Posted on August 5, 2013 linda strong aviation standards
Just as commercial aviation has certain standards that it must follow, so do government organizations and the military, mainly the U.S. Department of Defense. Parts that qualify as MS standard are referred to as “MIL-SPEC” or “MIL-STD.” Military specifications describe the physical and operational characteristics of a product while military standards detail the processes and materials to be used to make the product. Military and commercial standards can be overlapping, as some parts can have dual purposes, whereas some are reserved only for military use and vice versa. In general, military standards are much more rigorous than commercial aviation standards.
Military standards first evolved by World War II, with the U.S. and its allies busy standardizing and cataloguing. The reason for this was to ensure proper performance, maintenance, and reparability. Most importantly, however, was the need for interchangeability and compatibility to increase the logistical usefulness of military equipment. Differences in dimensions between American and British parts, for example, prohibited interchangeability and were not cost-effective. American bolts, screws, and nuts did not fit into British equipment properly. By enacting the standardization process, types of ammunition used could be minimized while ensuring quality during production of military equipment and full interchangeability. This process would continue to this day in various military standards spelled out defense handbooks and the Defense Standardization Program.
The defense handbook, or MIL-HDBK, is a guidance document that contains procedural, technical, engineering, and design information for materials and processes. Defense specifications (MIL-SPEC) governs the essential requirements for purchased material that is military unique or modified from commercial items for military use. Defense standards (MIL-STD) are requirements for military-unique and commercial-modified parts that must be met in order to be used in military equipment. The following are types of defense standards: interface standards, design criteria standards, manufacturing process standards, standard practices, and test method standards.
The U.S. Department of Defense maintains an exhaustive and extensive list of military standards and specifications for every branch of the government. The DOD even has standards about the format of standards. Usually, requests by the DOD takes precedence over any commercial aviation request, and large manufacturing companies actually all have military divisions that specialize in parts just for military and government use. The following companies, among others, carry military standard parts: Bel Fuse, Dale Electronics, Draloric, Fischer, Hawker Beechcraft, Raytheon, Veam, and ITT Cannon, among many others. Some larger companies range in everything from Boeing to Honeywell.
How to Get Genuine Products:
ASAP Semiconductor is a distributor for all types of MIL-SPEC parts and supplies parts for a variety of commercial and military aviation and aerospace applications. We have access to millions of MS standard parts, so contact us today for a quote to meet your parts needs.
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