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The aerospace and defense (A&D) industry is always on the move and changing. Technologies and processes that worked yesterday might not work today. That is why A&D companies are constantly seeking better ways to manage complexity, cut costs, and boost productivity.

Enter RFID technology.

There are scores of supply-chain and asset-management applications where RFID is being used, tested and deployed to solve real-world business problems within A&D markets. A multitude of recent announcements from the likes of the United States and allied militaries, Boeing, Airbus and NASA bear witness to the technology’s growing popularity.

These applications are explored in a major study from ABI Research, “The RFID Aerospace and Defense Market.”

“RFID has the strategic potential to help A&D companies improve supply chain visibility as well as asset management and optimization,” says the company's RFID research director, Michael Liard. “However, it must be noted that RFID is not a stand-alone panacea for all business problems. ABI Research believes that the integration of bar code, passive and active RFID, GPS, Wi-Fi, cellular, and sensors is increasingly required to provide a holistic view of the sophisticated and dynamic A&D vertical market.”

The report sums up the current state of RFID in the A&D industry as follows:

Supply-chain mandate-compliance remains a leading industry driver as A&D supply-chain partners work to satisfy the U.S. Department of Defense’s RFID requirements.