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10 The PCB Design Magazine • July 2017 Andy Shaughnessy is managing editor of The PCB Design Magazine. He has been covering PCB design for 18 years. He can be reached by clicking here. that defense spending decrease from a high of $670 million in 2012, with cuts of 6.4% in 2013 and 5.5% in 2014. But in 2015, spending began rising at 2.1%, the projected rate of inflation, reaching $714 billion in 2023. President Trump campaigned on beefing up the defense budget. He wants to raise DoD spending by $54 billion for FY2018, which would require 60 votes in the Senate to lift the sequester. But Trump may have trouble getting eight Democrats to vote with him, assuming he can get all 52 GOP members of the upper chamber to vote "aye." So, all of this is subject to the winds of politics. Still, many U.S. PCB design bureaus, fabricators and EMS providers are considering moving into mil/aero work. It's one market that's never going to move overseas (at least not legally), so why not give it a shot? Well, as our guest contributors point out in this month's issue, mil/aero work is not for company owners who are not fastidious record- keepers. The number of mil/aero regulations and certifications just keeps growing: ITAR, AS9100, DFARS, just to name a few. As Trilogy Circuits CEO Charlie Capers says in his interview, "Remember, the government loves paperwork." Our first feature is based on an interview with a variety of experts who have worked in mil/aero for years: Freedom CAD's COO Scott Miller; Lenthor Engineering VP of Sales/ Engineering John Rolle and VP of Marketing Dave Moody; and Zentech's CEO and President Matt Turpin and VP John Vaughan. They discuss the mil/aero challenges they see for PCB design bureaus, fabricators, and assembly providers, especially in the area of cybersecurity. American Standard Circuits CEO Anaya Vardya attended the International Paris Air Show recently, and he speaks with Dan Beaulieu about some of the highlights of the world's largest air show. Charlie Capers of Trilogy Circuits discusses some of the benefits, as well as regulatory hurdles, facing companies entering the mil/aero market. Next, Stephen V. Chavez, CID+, of UTC Aerospace Systems, explains the myriad of cybersecurity hoops that companies like his have to deal with. And Craig Armenti of Mentor Graphics focuses on ways to use vibration and acceleration analysis tools to improve reliability. You'll also find columns from our regular contributors Barry Olney of iCD, Alistair Little of Electrolube, and consultant Tim Haag. We bring you amazing coverage of the recent IPC event IMPACT Washington, D.C., written by Patty Goldman, editor of our sister magazine The PCB Magazine. Patty somehow interviewed a variety of people at the weeklong Capitol Hill event, from our industry and in government. One great takeaway: The EPA under President Trump no longer considers every board shop owner a polluting Snidely Whiplash, bent on destroying the planet. Now, the EPA asks, "How can we help you?" Isn't that how government is supposed to function? See you next month! PCBDESIGN MIL/AERO WORK NOT FOR EVERYONE