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Boeing plans to roll out digital airworthiness certificates at its repair stations, which should enhance its supply chain.
When you walk up to a bank ATM to withdraw money, you probably don’t think about the security protocols that underpin that transaction. And while you might wish you could withdraw more money on any given day, you probably understand why you can’t get $100,000 in one pop. Security measures protect you and the bank from fraud.
Some notable underpinnings of a more secure aviation supply chain have arisen since the AOG Technics falsified engine parts documentation scandal arose in mid-2023.
In September, the aviation aftermarket celebrated a major milestone for parts authenticity when Boeing, Southwest Airlines and Aeroxchange completed the first part shipment with a digital FAA 8130-3 airworthiness approval tag. That digital Authorized Release Certificate (ARC) accompanied a battery serviced at Boeing’s service center in Davie, Florida, and was sent via Aeroxchange to Southwest Airlines, which verified its authenticity through the digital process.
Efficiently and securely completing this transaction with digital records is a critical step in improving supply chain integrity by preventing unapproved parts from entering the market. It is also another step toward secure paperless operations.
The digital ARC—in this case, the digital 8130-3—replaces the paper certificate with an encrypted file that authenticates the authorized signature and the document’s integrity. This eliminates the risk of forged or lost paperwork.
The battery transaction took place on Aeroxchange’s eARC platform, which it built with X.509 security protocols and public-private keys. “X.509 is the core digital identity standard behind secure connections, transactions and authentication across almost all major industries in modern networks,” Aeroxchange Chief Product Officer Narayan Moni says.
The digital 8130 certificate on eARC “creates an immutable and verifiable record of part authenticity throughout its life cycle,” Aeroxchange President and CEO Al Koszarek notes.
These breakthroughs stem from the eARC Working Group formed several years ago and from the Aviation Supply Chain Integrity Coalition, which was created after the AOG Technics scandal. After conducting research on the industry, the coalition in 2024 recommended 13 industry actions—one of which was to use digital ARCs-—to prevent unapproved engine parts from entering the market.
The industry has made big strides in education, collaboration and part security since July 2023, when CFM International sent a bulletin to CFM56 operators warning of potential falsified parts paperwork—and it will continue to evolve. Expect to see the rollout of more digital ARCs.
Barclays Bank in London installed the first ATM in 1967 and set a £10 ($13) maximum withdrawal due to cash storage constraints and security concerns. ATM cards evolved from including magnetic strips containing account information to embedded micro-chips with EMV technology, which makes them harder to counterfeit. Of course, we don’t think about the evolution of ATM cards today, and perhaps someday we won’t think of the underpinnings of digital transactions in the aviation industry, either.
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