Military Specifications - Rugged Military Grade Phones & Gear

Military specifications or “Mil-Spec”

Is a term used for a standard of testing for equipment that has been prepared specifically for military applications during a broad range of climatic conditions, enduring environmentally stressed use or where the need arises for robust commercial products...

MIL-STD-810G is the US Military Standard for design and manufacture of equipment for diverse environments with exposure to various conditions. These testing conditions replicate the effect of the environment on the equipment’s service life in the field, testing the equipment’s life cycle and giving an indication of what the equipment can be exposed to. These environmental stresses influence the functioning as well as the lifespan of the equipment.

MIL-STD-810 Spec testing is used to:

Define and analyse duration and equipment life cycles during diverse environmental stresses.
To test and evaluate equipment durability during specified conditions criteria.
Optimise design, materials used, packaging techniques, processes for manufacturing, shipping requirements and maintenance and repair methods.
USAF, the US Army, and the US Navy are the Tri-Service partnership that maintains MIL-STD-810.
MIL-STD-810 addresses a broad range of environmental conditions that include temperature shock and operations in high and low temperatures; low-pressure testing for altitude use; moisture testing for operations during rain and snow; humidity and fog exposure to test rust resistance; shock and vibration; and dust and sand resistance.

In conclusion, there are limits to testing in a laboratory as real-world stresses caused by climate and environmental extremes cannot be duplicated to the extent that devices will go through in a lifetime of service.