Industries · Aerospace & Defense
How we help aerospace & defense buyers source technology.
CMMC compliance · Cleared facility operations.
TL;DR
What buyers in aerospace & defense need to know.
Aerospace and defense contractors source technology under CMMC, DFARS, ITAR, and increasingly NIST 800-171 compliance loads. The vendor that doesn't map cleanly to the certification framework is the wrong vendor. The right vendors know the framework by heart.
The pain points
What's actually broken in aerospace & defense technology sourcing right now.
Specific to this industry. We see the same five problems across nearly every engagement.
- CMMC L2 attestation pipelines longer than vendor timelines suggest.
- C3PAO relationships that vendors claim and do not actually have.
- CUI segmentation that breaks day-to-day operations.
- ITAR-compliant cloud variants priced 3-5x commercial equivalents.
- Subcontractor compliance flow-down that no MSSP fully productizes.
The vendor landscape.
Categories we source for aerospace & defense: CMMC-aware UCaaS and CCaaS · ITAR-compliant cloud · CUI-segmented MSSP · multi-facility SD-WAN with classified-adjacent segmentation.
Regulatory environment: CMMC 2.0 (Levels 1-3 depending on contract type), DFARS 252.204-7012, ITAR, EAR, FAR contractor-data requirements, increasing DoD CMMC enforcement attention.
Integration dependencies: ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, Deltek Costpoint for government contractors), PLM platforms (Siemens Teamcenter, PTC Windchill), classified network gateways, ITAR-compliant document management.
Every vendor mentioned in the questions below is in our active supplier pool. Buyer-stack software (EHR, ERP, AMS, DMS, and similar) is named freely as integration targets — these are systems we source contracts to integrate WITH, not vendors we source ourselves.
Three questions buyers actually ask
The high-intent questions answered.
Which UCaaS and CCaaS vendors carry CMMC Level 2 readiness packages?
CMMC Level 2 (NIST 800-171 implementation) UCaaS: Microsoft Teams Phone GCC High, Cisco Webex for Government, RingCentral for Government. CMMC-ready CCaaS: Genesys Cloud FedRAMP, NICE CXone FedRAMP. The actual CMMC L2 attestation status changes — we verify before recommending.
How do we segment CUI from non-CUI networks at a multi-facility contractor?
CUI segmentation requires SD-WAN with explicit CUI traffic isolation, MSSP coverage that produces CMMC-readable audit logs, and identity controls that survive a CMMC assessor review. Cato Networks, Fortinet, and Cisco carry CMMC-aware SD-WAN configurations. The actual implementation is shaped by your CMMC scope.
What does an MSSP look like for a $100M aerospace contractor pursuing CMMC L2 certification?
CMMC L2 MSSP coverage needs to produce the assessor-readable artifacts: documented incident response, audit logging, MFA on all CUI systems, ongoing vulnerability management. Trustwave, Ontinue, Cytellix, and Ariento carry CMMC-specific packages. The differentiator is the assessment-prep support and the C3PAO relationships.
Source for aerospace & defense.
Three ways to engage. Each tier applies the Cardinal Method with industry-specific scoring weights for aerospace & defense.
Tier 1 · Self-serve
Contract Benchmark
Upload your current contract. We return a benchmark calibrated to aerospace & defense pricing.
10 min upload · 5 biz days
Run the benchmark →Tier 2 · Named offer
Vendor Shortlist
45-minute scoping call. Written 3-vendor shortlist scored against aerospace & defense-specific rubric weights.
~1 hour · Free · Written deliverable
Schedule shortlist →Tier 3 · Engagement
Sourcing Engagement
Full Cardinal Method. Aerospace & Defense industry weighting applied throughout. Supplier-paid.
30–90 days · Defined milestones · Supplier-paid
Start engagement →Editorial note: every vendor named in this article is in The Cardinal Source's active supplier pool. We are compensated by residual commission paid by the supplier the buyer eventually signs with — the buyer pays no fee. See How we get paid for the full economic disclosure.