Sequestration has begun and the defense industry is beginning to take stock.

The Aerospace Industries Association, for one, went all in during the year-and-a-half long battle to stave it off and lost. The leading voice of defense contractors and aircraft manufacturers spent significant time, energy and money making the case that deep cuts to defense and discretionary funding would harm not only the nations economy but also its security.

But as the March 1 deadline passed without intervention by Congress and the White House, the budget cuts and corresponding Pentagon furloughs are being ushered in. Ripple effects for defense vendors, large and small, are expected to follow.

Nevertheless, AIA led by its high-profile CEO, Marion Blakey is not giving up the fight.

Were not going to stop, said Francis Sheller, the associations vice president of communications. The battles not over.

For the first time in the history of the defense industry, we at AIA all came together on a major policy issue, he said. Given the fact that this is a long-term battle, its got long-term value.

AIA wouldnt say how much it spent specifically on making the case against sequestration besides estimating that the number is significantly under $1 million. Overall, AIAs education campaign, called Second to None, spent around $2 million over the past year.

As sequestration unfolds, defense analysts predict that the opportunities for AIA to say, I told you so will abound.

Sequestration wasnt just a light switch that you flip on on March 1, and everything bad happens, said Cord Sterling, AIAs vice president for legislative affairs. It is a process that now has been set in motion. The longer it goes on, the more damage it will do to the economy, the industrial base and to the federal agencies and their missions. Obviously, were trying to get [lawmakers] to focus on resolving this as soon as possible by some mechanism.

Defense consultant Loren Thompson, who works closely with many of the big companies that form AIAs membership, agreed that time will tell just how influential AIAs voice was in the sequestration fight.

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Aerospace takes sequester hit