MIL-Spec Cheat Sheet

Military standards, or MIL-STDs, are more than just alphabet soup.  They are used to help achieve standardization objectives by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Here are some commonly used MIL-STDs and what they mean:

MIL-S-901D
What is it: U.S. Navy defense standard that states that a piece of equipment mounted on a Navy ship will survive after a shock event, such as being hit by a missile or torpedo. We utilize the MIL-S-901D Lightweight Shock Machine Test, also known as the Hammer Test, to qualify our products to the MIL-STD Standard. There are two grades of MIL-S-901D. Grade A means that the equipment will continue to work after a shock event. Grade B indicates that the device did not cast off parts that could create a hazard to on board personnel or other equipment. Grade A devices are deemed necessary to the operation of the ship, while Grade B is reserved for devices deemed non-critical.
Examples of Aydin Defense products that meet this requirement:

MIL-STD-167-1A
What is it: It establishes requirements and acceptance criteria for:

  • Environmental vibration testing of shipboard equipment.
  • Balancing shipboard rotating equipment subjected to internally induced vibration during operation.

Type I – Environmental vibration, Type II – Internally excited vibration

Examples of Aydin Defense products that meet this requirement:

MIL-STD-461
What is it: This standard establishes a product’s electromagnetic interference (EMI) and its electromagnetic compatibility. MIL-STD-461 gauges how well the product will perform in “noisy” environments.  It specifies the EMI requirements for a variety of applications, from ships to aircraft to ground mobile vehicles, as well as the various requirements within an application (e.g., above deck and below deck on a Navy ship).  This standard is required when a product needs to coexist with other sensitive or powerful equipment.

Examples of Aydin Defense products that meet this requirement:

MIL-STD-810G/MIL-STD-810F
What is it: This standard describes testing procedures designed to determine how equipment holds up in a multitude of conditions while being used, transported and stored. Some of these conditions include temperature, impact, vibration and humidity.
Examples of Aydin Defense products that meet this requirement: