What is Mil-Spec?

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on July 1, 2009 at 7:14pm

My watch, my vehicle laptop, my GPS, and my personal cell phone are all mil-spec. They've lasted a lot longer than any non mil-spec electronic device I've ever had.

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Permalink Reply by Chance Gearheart on July 1, 2009 at 7:50pm

Ask and you shall recieve! From Wikipedia:

A United States Defense Standard, often called a military standard, "MIL-STD", "MIL-SPEC", or (informally) "MilSpecs", is used to help achieve standardization objectives by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Standardization is beneficial in achieving interoperability, ensuring products meet certain requirements, commonality, reliability, total cost of ownership, compatibility with logistics systems, and similar defense-related objectives [1].

Defense Standards are also used by other non-Defense government organizations, technical organizations, and industry. This article discusses definitions, history, and usage of Defense Standards. Related documents, such as Defense Handbooks and Defense Specifications are also addressed.

Contents [hide]
1 Definition of document types
2 Formats
3 Origins
4 Non-exhaustive list of documents
5 See also
6 References
7 External links



[edit] Definition of document types
Although the official definitions differentiate between several types of documents, all of these documents go by the general rubric of "military standard", including defense specifications, handbooks, and standards. Strictly speaking, these documents serve different purposes. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), military specifications "describe the physical and/or operational characteristics of a product", while military standards "detail the processes and materials to be used to make the product." Military handbooks, on the other hand, are primarily sources of compiled information and/or guidance. The GAO acknowledges, however, that the terms are often used interchangeably.

Official definitions are provided by DOD 4120.24-M Defense Standardization Program (DSP) Policies and Procedures, March 2000, OUSD (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics):

Acronym Type Definition
MIL-HDKB Defense Handbook A guidance document containing standard procedural, technical, engineering, or design information about the materiel, processes, practices, and methods covered by the DSP.
MIL-SPEC Defense Specification A document that describes the essential technical requirements for purchased material that is unique to the military or commercial items that have been modified substantially.
MIL-STD Defense Standard A document that establishes uniform engineering and technical requirements for military-unique or substantially modified commercial processes, procedures, practices, and methods. There are five types of defense standards: interface standards, design criteria standards, manufacturing process standards, standard practices, and test method standards.
MIL-PRF Performance (Defense) Document of very narrow specifications (than MIL-DTL)[1]
MIL-DTL Detail (Defense) Document of more lax specifications (than MIL-PRF)[1]
Standard A document that establishes uniform engineering or technical criteria, methods, processes and practices.
Specification A document prepared to support acquisition that describes the essential technical requirement for purchased material and the criteria for determining whether those requirements are met.

For purposes of this article, "defense standards" will include standards, specifications and handbooks.


[edit] Formats
The DOD has standards about the format of standards:

MIL-STD-961E(1), Defense and Program-Unique Specifications Format and Content, 2 April 2008, Dept. of Defense [2]
MIL-STD-962D(1), Defense Standards Format and Content, 2 April 2008, Dept. of Defense [3]

[edit] Origins
Defense standards evolved from the need to ensure proper performance and maintainability of military equipment. For example, due to differences in dimensional tolerances, in World War II American screws and bolts did not fit British equipment properly and were not fully interchangeable.[2] Defense standards provide many benefits, such as minimizing the number of types of ammunition, ensuring compatibility of tools, and ensuring quality during production of military equipment. This results, for example, in ammunition cases that can be opened without tools. The proliferation of standards had drawbacks, however. It was argued that the large number of standards, nearly 30,000 by 1990, imposed unnecessary restrictions, increased cost to contractors, and hence the DOD, and impeded the incorporation of the latest technology. Responding to increasing criticism, Secretary of Defense William Perry issued a memorandum in 1994 that prohibited the use of most defense standards without a waiver.[3] This has become known as the "Perry memo". Many defense standards were canceled. In their place, the DOD encouraged the use of industry standards, such as ISO 9000 series for quality assurance. (See COTS.) Weapon systems were required to use "performance specifications" that described the desired features of the weapon, as opposed to requiring a large number of defense standards. In 2005 DOD issued a new memorandum[4] which eliminated the requirement to obtain a waiver in order to use defense standards. The 2005 memo did not reinstate any canceled defense standards.

According to a 2003 issue of Gateway, published by the Human Systems Information Analysis Center [4], the number of defense standards and specifications have been reduced from 45,500 to 28,300. However, other sources noted that the number of standards just before the Perry memorandum was issued was less than 30,000, and that thousands have been canceled since then. This may be due to differences in what is counted as a "military standard".


[edit] Non-exhaustive list of documents
H4 Handbook, a handbook containing vendor CAGE code details
H8 Handbook, another handbook containing vendor CAGE code details
MIL-E-7016F, pertains to the analysis of AC and DC loads on an aircraft.
MIL-STD-105, Sampling Procedures and Tables for Inspection by Attributes (withdrawn)
MIL-STD-188, a series related to telecommunications
MIL-STD-202, quality standards for electronic parts.
MIL-STD-498, on software development and documentation
MIL-STD 461, "Requirements for the control of electromagnetic interference characteristics of subsystems and equipment"
MIL-STD-810, test methods for determining the environmental effects on equipment
MIL-STD-882, standard practice for system safety
MIL-STD-883, test method standard for microcircuits [5]
MIL-STD-1234, sampling, inspection, and testing of pyrotechnics
MIL-STD-1246C, particle and molecular contamination levels for space hardware (has been replaced with IEST-STD-1246).
MIL-STD-1388-1A, Logistic Support Analysis (canceled and s/s by MIL-HDBK-502, Acquisition Logistics)
MIL-STD-1388-2B, DOD requirements for a logistic support analysis record (canceled and s/s by MIL-PRF-49506, Logistics Management Information)
MIL-STD-1394, this is concerned with the construction quality of hats and is often confused with IEEE 1394.
MIL-STD-1474, a sound measurement for small arms standard
MIL-STD-1553, a digital communications bus
MIL-STD-1589, JOVIAL programming language
MIL-STD-1750A, an instruction set architecture (ISA) for airborne computers
MIL-STD-1760, smart-weapons interface derived from MIL-STD-1553
MIL-STD-1815, Ada programming language
MIL-STD-1913, Picatinny rail, a mounting bracket on firearms
MIL-STD-2196, pertains to optical fiber communications
MIL-STD-2361, pertains to digital development, acquisition, and delivery of Army administrative, training and doctrine, and technical equipment publications in SGML.
MIL-STD-2525, Common Warfighting Symbology
MIL-PRF-38534, General Specification For Hybrid Microcircuits.
MIL-PRF-38535, General Specification For Integrated Circuits (Microcircuits) Manufacturing.

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Permalink Reply by TheCannulator on July 2, 2009 at 7:58am

Gotta love Wikipedia.

Mil Spec is a Marketing Tool outside the Armed Services.

Having a Military contract is something of a medal for the chest of manufacturers. oakley love totuting how good there glasses are when many others meet the standard.

Now whilst the US defence force set some pretty good standards, anything that is used by a Defence Force could be consiered "Mil Spec".

The orignal Heartstart 3000 was Mil Spec. Until the army ambualnce got moving and it switched itself off.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Sasso on July 2, 2009 at 2:15pm

Mil-Spec is shorthand for Military Specifications. In simple terms, when the military wants something made, they have to put it out to be bid on from various companies (the same as when a Fire department wants a new Engine etc...). So they make a list of minimal specifications (must be less than this weight, shoot at that speed, waterproof to this depth). The companies then bid on what they can come up with meeting these specs (they don't always meet all the specs, just the closest with the cheapest price).
It is considered a good standard because the military really does put a lot of thought and research into purchase contracts, but then again, it is for military use, not always applicable to us.
Hope that helps.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Bell on July 2, 2009 at 2:28pm

I think the title of my discussion may have been misleading. What I was meant to get at was how important mil-spec testing is within the EMS community. Highly regarded? Always, sometimes, never?

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Permalink Reply by asysin2leads on July 2, 2009 at 3:22pm

That doesn't really explain the Humvee, lol. Anyway, when it comes to military specifications for equipment, it can be good and it can be bad. There's a reason there's the aphorism "There's the right way, the wrong way, and the Army way." A lot of equipment built for battlefield conditions doesn't translate well to the civilian arena. Most EMS systems don't have to worry about IED attacks, and yes, I mean even in the post-9/11 world, IED attacks in civilian operations are surprisingly rare. Therefore a machine that is built first to withstand RPG attacks, with a gas guzzling engine to support the extra weight, and comfort as an afterthought, is not really something that is useful in EMS. Most non-vehicle military equipment follows this same model, very heavy, requiring a lot of energy, as a trade off for extreme durability. Some civilian technology even surpasses military technology, such as hand held GPS. In the early days of Afghanistan, some Special Forces groups brought their own civilian GPS devices for orienteering, as their battery life far surpassed the military issued ones. I'd say if I needed a MilSpec piece of equipment, it would be something along the lines of personal safety equipment. Otherwise I think we can make do with civilian equipment and drink some beer and crush the cans on our foreheads if we need to feel macho.

Tom Sasso said:

Mil-Spec is shorthand for Military Specifications. In simple terms, when the military wants something made, they have to put it out to be bid on from various companies (the same as when a Fire department wants a new Engine etc...). So they make a list of minimal specifications (must be less than this weight, shoot at that speed, waterproof to this depth). The companies then bid on what they can come up with meeting these specs (they don't always meet all the specs, just the closest with the cheapest price).
It is considered a good standard because the military really does put a lot of thought and research into purchase contracts, but then again, it is for military use, not always applicable to us.
Hope that helps.

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Permalink Reply by Bud Marsh on July 2, 2009 at 5:04pm

Mil-spec means military specifications, generally more heavy duty the non mil-spec.

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Permalink Reply by Duncan Hitchcock on July 2, 2009 at 6:07pm

As with any spec the needs of your service need to be weighed against "Mil-Specs", your budget and how you plan to use the equipment. We look closely at which "Mil-Specs" an electronic device is tested against. Like reading scientific papers, you must take the time to read the details of how the research, or in this case, the testing was done. Is it realistic to your the environment?

We use the brand that you referenced in your introduction. We had to remind our Paramedics that "tough" does not mean indestructable. I think vendors should develop a new testing criteria....."Our product has been tested against EMS and Fire Service Specs." If an electronic device can be broken, the toughest criteria is that device that survives a month on the road in an EMS or fire unit.

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Permalink Reply by BostonMedic109 on July 3, 2009 at 10:05am

Buried within the lengthy responses to your questions is the answer to your question,"What is the value of the Mil-Spec to EMS?" The answer is of no value unless you make yourself aware of the specific "specifications" of that Mil Spec. The military spec is the bid requirements of the military agency requesting bids for a specific product. It is the equivalent of other advertising slogans such as "New and Improved" "Light" and "Low Calorie" When investigating a product with a "mil spec" hype you should request the mil spec and see if it meets your requirements

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Permalink Reply by Shawn on October 13, 2009 at 9:09am

Lisa Bell said:

I think the title of my discussion may have been misleading. What I was meant to get at was how important mil-spec testing is within the EMS community. Highly regarded? Always, sometimes, never?

Well, Lisa, it's a valid question. Here's my 2-cents worth:

MilSpec should not be the "be all, end all" when it comes to procurement, etc. As someone mentioned previously, milspec doesn't always mean much in the real world when a piece of equipment shuts off for example, in a moving vehicle.

I'm in the military and can attest to the fact that MilSpec DOES NOT always mean it's a better piece of gear. Especially important to consider is the fact that often times, MilSpec gear is produced by "the lowest bidder" in a contract process and let's face it, as with most things, you get what you pay for. Confusing? You bet. Frustrating? Absolutely...especially when you find out that that expensive gear you bought is actually a P.O.S.

I am a (nearly) 20 year veteran of the military so I have had some experience. The thing I can speak of most would be MilSpec-810. It is a test spec where they look at environmental effects and standards. This is probably the most important one for us in EMS to know about. This encompases not just exposure to water and other elements, but also "ruggedization" or it's ability to withstand bangs, bumps, drops and other forms of shock and impact. We see this standard most on things like laptops, and especially on communication equipment like radios and cell phones.

Bottom line, (I think) MilSpec should be looked at as a factor in decision making but not exclusively. Better to talk to other crews, departments, agencies that are already using the product you're interested in to get actual end user feedback...rather than find out the hard way.

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