Aerospace component manufacturers — companies that produce components for aircraft, spacecraft, or defense applications — may perform activities that warrant analysis under the federal R&D tax credit. This page explains what development work may be relevant. It is educational and is not individualized advice. For the foundational framework, see our page on qualified research.
What R&D May Look Like in Aerospace Component Manufacturing
Aerospace component manufacturing involves design, materials, manufacturing processes, qualification testing, and performance and reliability targets. Work directed at resolving genuine technical uncertainty in these areas may warrant review.
Industry-Specific Examples of Technical Development
- Developing component designs to achieve a specified performance, weight, or reliability target where the appropriate design is uncertain.
- Testing alternative materials — advanced alloys, composites, titanium — to meet a performance or weight target where the capability is uncertain.
- Developing manufacturing processes to achieve a quality, tolerance, or cost target where the method is not established.
- Developing qualification or testing approaches to verify performance where the appropriate method is uncertain.
- Testing alternative designs or materials to meet a specified fatigue, thermal, or environmental target where the capability is uncertain.
- Developing joining, assembly, or finishing processes to meet aerospace standards where the appropriate method is uncertain.
Technical Uncertainty Examples
- Whether an alternative component design can achieve a specified performance and weight target.
- Whether a new material can meet a specified fatigue and thermal target for a specific application.
- Whether a modified manufacturing process can achieve a tolerance target at production volume.
Process-of-Experimentation Examples
A process of experimentation may involve building and testing prototype components with alternative designs and measuring performance, testing alternative materials and evaluating fatigue and thermal properties, or running manufacturing trials and measuring quality and tolerance.
Potential Business Components
Potential business components may include a new or improved aerospace component, a new or improved material, a new or improved manufacturing process, or a new or improved qualification or testing approach.
Employee and Contractor Work
Employees whose work may warrant analysis include design and aerospace engineers, materials engineers, manufacturing and process engineers, and quality engineers. Contractor work may include outside testing laboratories, material suppliers, or engineering firms performing development work on behalf of the manufacturer.
Activities That Generally Require Caution or May Not Qualify
- Routine production of parts to known specifications.
- Ordinary quality control or inspection.
- Simple material or design substitutions without a technical development question.
- Routine tooling and equipment maintenance.
- Ordinary troubleshooting without an identified uncertainty and evaluative process.
Documentation That May Help
Records that may help include component design drawings, prototype and qualification test results, material test data, manufacturing trial records, and records connecting personnel and materials to specific development projects.
Example Hypothetical Project
The following is a hypothetical example for illustration only.
An aerospace component manufacturer is developing a component intended to reduce weight while maintaining a specified fatigue and thermal target. The technical uncertainty is whether an alternative combination of material, design, and manufacturing process can achieve the specified weight, fatigue, and thermal target. The team builds prototypes with alternative approaches, conducts fatigue and thermal testing, and evaluates the results. Professional review is still needed.
Questions to Ask Internally
- What specific component, material, or process was being developed or improved?
- What technical uncertainty existed at the outset?
- How does this differ from routine production?
Relationship to the Four-Part Test
The four-part test applies the same way as in any industry. The work must satisfy all four elements: permitted purpose, technological in nature, elimination of uncertainty, and process of experimentation. Funded-research considerations may apply to customer-funded development; see our page on funded research.
Key Takeaway
Aerospace component manufacturers may perform activities that warrant analysis under IRC §41 — particularly work involving design, materials, manufacturing processes, qualification testing, and performance and reliability targets. Routine production does not automatically qualify. Because these determinations are fact-specific, professional review is appropriate. For related industries, see precision machining and composite materials.