98 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2019
forces when we wanted, assemble them where
we wanted, and operate how we wanted.
Today, every domain is contested—air, land,
sea, space, and cyberspace."
In June 2016 (and as amended August
2018), the U.S. Secretary of Defense estab-
lished the Printed Circuit Board and Intercon-
nect Technology Executive Agent (PrCB EA)
via DoD Instruction 5101.18E
[4]
with an orig-
inal National Academy charter to develop a
competitive network of trusted suppliers.
To this end—and in a collaborative effort
between IPC, the PrCB Executive Agent
(NSWC-Crane), DoD, and other government
and industry partners—IPC-1791 was devel-
oped to complement and expand the integ-
rity assurance offered by the Trusted Access
Program Office (TAPO) for microelectronics
to address integrity assurance vulnerabilities
related to the design, fabrication, and assem-
bly of printed boards with initial emphasis on
defense requirements.
The IPC-1791 (August 2018) standard,
"Trusted Electronic Designer, Fabricator and
Assembler Requirements" provides mini-
mum requirements, policies, and procedures
for printed board design, fabrication, and
assembly organizations and/or companies to
become trusted sources for markets requir-
ing high levels of confidence in the integrity
of delivered products. These trusted sources
shall ensure quality, supply chain risk manage-
ment (SCRM), security, and chain of custody
(ChoC).
Expect to hear a lot about the IPC-1791 stan-
dard at IPC APEX EXPO in San Diego (Janu-
ary 26–31). If your company is involved in
support of military electronics manufactur-
ing, I would highly encourage you to attend
to learn more.
In closing, I have had the pleasure and
honor to serve on both the National Defense
Industrial Association (NDIA) Executive
Order 13806 Electronics Working Group and
the IPC Trusted Supplier Task Group over the
past two years as many of these initiatives
and standards have evolved. Serving with
many others from the electronics industry,
DoD, Commerce, and beyond, I have devel
-
oped an incredible respect for all principals
involved, and have witnessed first-hand their
hard work, leadership, deep thinking, and
unwavering dedication to providing a frame
-
work to protect our nation's most sensitive
defense information.
Electronics, and the associated electronic
manufacturing supply chain, are key compo-
nents of all military systems. As such, our
industry has a responsibility to both embrace
and solve for the challenges associated with
secure management of the vast amount of
sensitive technical data that flows through our
organizations' networks and within our supply
chains.
Our nation's security depends on the elec-
tronics industry performing at a high-level
regarding cybersecurity, and there is compel-
ling evidence to suggest that the ability of your
company to continue to support DoD electron-
ics manufacturing also depends upon it.
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References
1. Nissen, C., Gronager, J., Metzer, R., & Rishikof, H. "Deliver
Uncompromised: A Strategy for Supply Chain Security and
Resilience in Response to the Changing Character of War."
MITRE Corporation, August 2018.
2. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition
and Sustainment, and the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secre-
tary of Defense for Industrial Policy. "Assessing and Strength-
ening the Manufacturing and Defense Industrial Base and
Supply Chain Resiliency of the United States: Report to Presi-
dent Donald J. Trump by the Interagency Task Force in Fulfill-
ment of Executive Order 13806." September 2018.
3. United States Department of Defense. "Summary of the
2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America:
Sharpening the American Military's Competitive Edge." 2018.
4. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition
and Sustainment. "DoD Directive 5101.18E: DoD Executive Agent
for Printed Circuit Board and Interconnect Technology." June
12, 2016.
John Vaughan is VP of Zentech
(Baltimore, Maryland) and is a
widely recognized subject matter
expert (SME) in military C5ISR
electronics. To read past columns
or contact Vaughan, click here.
