Aviation Sourcing Solutions Blog

The aviation and aerospace industry is one of the most highly regulated industries, with a demand for quality products that are matched by very few industries. Every part must be tested and approved as air-worthy as well as meet certain requirements before being put into an airplane. There are many different types of standards that regulate commercial aviation as well as military equipment. Many are industry-wide standards and followed by hundreds of companies, whereas some are company-specific standards.

NAS Standards, or National Aerospace Standards, include part standards for high strength, precision fasteners. It also defines high-pressure hose, electrical connectors, splices and terminations, rod end bearings, and other types of hardware and components. The Aerospace Industries Association has coordinated with the U.S. Department of Defense to convert over 500 MIL-SPECs to NAS. All parts that satisfy the National Aerospace Standard carry either the prefix “NASM” or “NAM,” signifying inch based and metric based measurements, respectively. The National Aerospace Standards Committee (NASC), a component of AIA, is responsible for regulating all NAS parts and updating NAS standards for all operations and issues that affect aviation and aerospace systems. This deals with policy, requirements, and standards for all technical and operations issues.

Just as commercial aviation has certain standards that it must follow, so do government organizations and the military, mainly the U.S. Department of Defense. Parts that qualify as MS standard are referred to as “MIL-SPEC” or “MIL-STD.” Military specifications describe the physical and operational characteristics of a product while military standards detail the processes and materials to be used to make the product. Military and commercial standards can be overlapping, as some parts can have dual purposes, whereas some are reserved only for military use and vice versa. In general, military standards are much more rigorous than commercial aviation standards.

JAN is an acronym describing a Joint Army-Navy Specification, which indicates the highly regulated government specifications used for electronic components of a specified quality or survivability. JAN parts have tightly maintained quality control. It also usually means the parts will last longer and withstand higher temperatures, voltages, and currents than their consumer counterparts. Although these specifications for technical equipment are developed by a joint board of the United States Army and Navy, they are usable for civilian equipment as well as for equipment built specifically for the military. These specifications describe the parts in detail, from the engineering aspect down to quality requirements. The JAN prefix is usually abbreviated to J on smaller devices and parts.

SAE International is the largest automotive and aerospace standards-setting body in the world, which publishes technical information in the form of papers, books, magazines, and meetings. Technical standards are developed by SAE International, a U.S. based, global professional association and standards organization for engineering professionals in various industries. Its focus is on the transport industries: automotive, aerospace, and commercial vehicles. Formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers, this organization develops standards based on the best practices identified by its committees and task forces, composed of experts from each respective field. Today, SAE International has over 120,000 members around the world, with membership being granted on an individual basis and not through companies.