SAE ARP4754B (aircraft and systems development assurance)

What it is

SAE publishes ARP4754B as the current Aerospace Recommended Practice for guidelines for development of civil aircraft and systems. The standard text is sold by SAE and is not reproduced here. The previous revision is ARP4754A.

FAA AC 20-174, dated 30 September 2011, recognizes SAE ARP 4754A, Guidelines for Development of Civil Aircraft and Systems, dated December 21, 2010, as an acceptable method for establishing a development assurance process. The AC says ARP 4754A discusses the development of aircraft and systems taking into account the overall aircraft operating environment and functions, including validation of requirements and verification of the design implementation for certification and process assurance. We have not found a later AC that replaces 20-174 and names ARP4754B.

Who it applies to

AC 20-174 is for manufacturers who are seeking certification of their aircraft or aircraft system including Line Replaceable Units (LRU) and components. The AC is not mandatory, and is not a regulation. It describes an acceptable means, but not the only means, for showing compliance with 14 CFR. The guidelines in ARP 4754A were developed in the context of 14 CFR part 25 and may be applicable to other regulations, such as 14 CFR parts 23, 27, 29, 33, and 35.

Applicants should propose and document in your certification plan the functional development assurance level (FDAL), item development assurance level (IDAL) and justification for the levels.

How it sits next to AI work

The FAA AI Safety Assurance Roadmap says the FAA is supporting application and possible extension of existing standards including SAE ARP4754, alongside DO-178C/ED-12 and DO-330/ED-215. That is a roadmap statement, not a new AC.

Item-level software work still sits under DO-178C and DO-330. Machine-learning process work sits with EASA Issue 2 and the draft SAE G-34 / ARP6983 standard. ARP4754 is the aircraft-and-systems development-assurance layer those item standards hang from.

What it is not

ARP4754B is not an AI-product certificate, not a tool-qualification standard (DO-330 is), and not a data-process standard (DO-200B is). AC 20-174 still names the A revision. Check the certification basis for a given program before treating B as the accepted means.