Dangerous goods for the defense-tech corridor
Southern California builds and moves more defense technology than anywhere in the country - and that hardware is dense with regulated articles. A drone, a satellite, a launch vehicle, a counter-UAS effector is a moving inventory of lithium batteries, energetics, propellants, and compressed gases. We classify it, document it, and make it ship - by air, sea, road, and military air.
Defense tech is a dangerous goods problem
The same articles recur across every program in the region. Get them classified and documented once, correctly, and the hardware moves. Get them wrong and the shipment is rejected, returned, or grounded. These are the three families we see most.
Power systems
Large-format lithium-ion and lithium-metal cells in UAS, satellites, and ground stations - classified by chemistry, watt-hour rating, and state of charge, with the correct packing instruction and SoC documentation.
UN3480 / UN3481 · IATA PI 965-970 · 49 CFR §173.185Energetics & ordnance
Pyrotechnic, propellant-actuated, and explosive components - separation devices, initiators, effectors - handled as Class 1 against the controlling EX approval and compatibility group.
Class 1 · 49 CFR §173.56 · EX approvalPropellants & gases
Hypergolic and cryogenic propellants, pressurants, and compressed gases - classified by hazard and authored into GHS-aligned Safety Data Sheets, with gaps flagged for SME input, never fabricated.
Class 2 · 6.1 · 8 · OSHA HazComSpace Beach ships under the regulations
Long Beach has become one of the densest small-launch and space-systems clusters in the country - launch vehicles, satellites, and propulsion built blocks from the Port of Long Beach. That hardware carries large-format batteries, pressurant and propellant gases, pyrotechnic separation devices, and composite pressure vessels.
We classify each article, decide air versus sea by mode and timeline, and build declarations that survive review - IATA DGR for air out of LAX, IMDG for ocean freight through the port.
What we handle in Long Beach
- › Battery classification, watt-hour & state-of-charge documentation
- › DGDs for launch and space-systems components
- › SDS authoring for propellants, pressurants & chemicals
- › Air-vs-sea mode strategy - LAX air cargo or Port of Long Beach ocean
- › Composite pressure vessel & compressed-gas handling
The aerospace corridor, cleared for export
From the El Segundo aerospace corridor and the Los Angeles Space Force Base to the satellite and space-systems primes across the county, LA is where space hardware is built - and LAX is its air-cargo gateway. Those shipments mix lithium batteries, propellant residues, and ordnance with export-controlled technical data.
We prepare air-export declarations under the IATA DGR, select the right lithium-battery packing instruction, and keep the dangerous-goods work aware of the ITAR/EAR overlay so nothing on the airway bill contradicts the export paperwork.
What we handle in Los Angeles
- › Air-export DGDs via LAX (IATA / ICAO)
- › Lithium-battery packing-instruction selection & marks
- › SDS authoring for space-hardware chemicals & propellants
- › Export-control-aware handling (ECoP / ITAR informed)
- › Classification of satellite & payload articles
Where autonomy is built at rate
Orange County is the heart of the region's defense-tech manufacturing base - autonomy, UAS, and counter-UAS hardware produced in Costa Mesa and Irvine, anchored by companies like Anduril, where our own principal works day-to-day. High-rate production means the same battery-dense, often energetic, articles ship again and again.
That repetition is where a program needs more than one-off declarations: recurrent training for the people packing and signing, and standard operating procedures that hold up when volume climbs.
What we handle in Orange County
- › UAS & battery classification for repeat shipments
- › Recurrent DG training for production & shipping teams
- › SOPs & program design for high-rate dispatch
- › Energetic-effector (Class 1) handling & EX approvals
- › ATTLA / MILAIR preparation for fielded systems
The airlift and distribution backbone
The Inland Empire is where defense-tech hardware is staged, warehoused, and flown. Ontario International Airport (ONT) handles the air cargo, the Ontario-Riverside-San Bernardino corridor handles the distribution, and March Air Reserve Base handles the military airlift. It is also where hazmat sits at distribution scale.
We prepare military air documentation to AFMAN 24-604 for movements through March ARB, build ground declarations under 49 CFR, and set storage segregation and SOPs that keep a distribution operation audit-ready.
What we handle in the Inland Empire
- › AFMAN 24-604 military air shipment prep (March ARB)
- › Ground DGDs for road movement (49 CFR)
- › Air-cargo declarations via Ontario (ONT)
- › Warehouse storage segregation & compatibility
- › Distribution-scale SOPs & records retention