Let me explain how aerospace Revisions or Rev Levels work. Oftentimes the customer, or manufacturer or the OEM make changes to drawings or the specifications. These can range anywhere from major, such as design changes to minor such as adding a drawing detail. These changes require a revision to the drawing or specification. These revisions must be marked and are generally marked by letters such as Rev A, Rev B, etc. The latest Rev level to AS81820 is Rev D, which references passivation of 13-8 balls. This Rev level would only apply if one were making 13-8 balls rather than 440C balls. It is the option of the manufacturer as to the material they use.
When a manufacturer like TPAC submits parts to the Navy for testing, those parts must comply with the then-current Rev level, which in the case of TPAC was Rev Level C. So, TPAC qualified under Rev C. The qualifying agency (NAVAIR) will not allow anyone to qualify under anything but the current Rev level. But in the case of bearings or other parts manufactured for aerospace, this is common knowledge, so nobody says they are qualified to Rev B or Rev G or whatever. They simply reference the drawing part number or the spec for which they received qualification approval. So TPAC did not present an outdated spec and Boeing would know that.
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