Upcoming Revisions to Aerospace Standards (AS9100, AS9110, AS9120)
The aerospace quality standards built on ISO 9001: AS9100:2016, AS9110:2016 and AS9120:2016, are now moving into their next revision cycle to stay aligned with the forthcoming ISO 9001:2026 edition. Under the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG), the 9100‑series is being refreshed and rebranded as the IA9100 series (IA9100 for production, IA9110 for maintenance, IA9120 for distributors), reflecting its international governance and closer coupling with ISO 9001. Publication of the revised aerospace standards is currently expected around 2026–2027, with a transition window likely extending into 2029 for organizations to migrate from AS9100/AS9110/AS9120 to the new IA9100‑series certificates.
Why the Aerospace Standards Are Changing
Since AS9100 Rev D and its companion standards were released in 2016, aerospace supply chains have seen major shifts in globalization, digitalization, cyber threats, regulatory expectations and sustainability pressures. IAQG’s goal with the IA9100 series is to keep the aerospace framework fully synchronized with ISO 9001:2026, while reinforcing the sector‑specific requirements that have proven critical to aviation, space and defense: product safety, configuration management, prevention of counterfeit parts and robust supplier control. The update is widely described as a limited‑change or evolutionary revision—tightening and extending existing requirements rather than rebuilding the standards from scratch.
Key Themes and Expected Changes (IA9100 / IA9110 / IA9120)
Based on IAQG communications and industry commentary on draft IA9100 documents, organizations can expect increased emphasis in several areas:
- Alignment with ISO 9001:2026: Full adoption of the revised ISO 9001 core text and structure, including strengthened risk‑based thinking, leadership, and consideration of external issues such as climate and sustainability.
- Process controls and advanced quality planning: More explicit expectations around APQP, process capability, SPC, MSA, key characteristics, and integrated control plans, especially for complex and safety‑critical products.
- Cybersecurity and data protection: New or reinforced requirements to assess information security risks, protect digital data (including design and configuration data), and ensure personnel awareness—connecting with parallel initiatives like CMMC where applicable.
- Product safety and ethical behavior: Expanded treatment of product safety analysis, incident reporting, traceability for safety‑critical items, and a stronger thread of ethical conduct and quality culture throughout the standard.
- Supplier and supply‑chain robustness: Deeper expectations for risk‑based supplier management, supplier development, and visibility across multi‑tier global supply chains, supported by ongoing enhancements to the OASIS database and certification scheme.
Companion standards AS9110 and AS9120 will be updated in parallel as IA9110 and IA9120, carrying these themes into maintenance/repair and distributor environments while preserving their sector‑specific focus.
Transition Timing and What Organizations Should Do Now
Current indications are that the IA9100‑series standards will publish around 2026–2027, with an industry‑wide transition period that may run up to 2029, similar to prior aerospace and ISO transitions. During that window, organizations can still be audited to AS9100/AS9110/AS9120, but will need to migrate to the IA9100‑series to maintain aerospace certification when the transition closes. For most companies, the practical work will focus on tightening existing processes—especially in risk management, product safety, cybersecurity, and advanced quality planning—rather than designing a new management system from the ground up.
Our role is to help aerospace and defense organizations treat this as a structured, low‑drama transition: mapping current AS9100/9110/9120 controls to the IA9100‑series drafts, prioritizing real risk and customer expectations over “checkbox” changes, and aligning your transition plan with recertification cycles and other requirements like CMMC, ITAR and customer‑specific mandates.
