MIL-STD-461

MIL-STD-461^[1] is a United States Military Standard that describes how to test equipment for electromagnetic compatibility.

Various revisions of MIL-STD-461 have been released. Many military contracts require compliance to MIL-STD-461E. The latest revision (as of 2013) is known as "MIL-STD-461F".

^[2] Drafts of the next revision known as "MIL-STD-461G" reveal significant changes.^[3]

While MIL-STD-461 compliance is technically not required outside the US military, many civilian organizations also use this document.^[4] People at electromagnetic compatibility test labs typically set up their anechoic chamber to comply with MIL-STD-461, in order to support people who try to make the products they design comply to MIL-STD-461. These designers attempt to comply with this standard for two reasons:

• Even if none of the potential customers require MIL-STD-461, if a device complies with (or is very close to complying to) the (relatively strict) MIL-STD-461, then it is certain to comply with the (relatively looser) FCC Part 15 and EMC standards of other countries, and it is simpler to run one test than to run a separate test for each one.
• Even if only a few of the potential customers require MIL-STD-461, it's simpler to design a single commercial off-the-shelf product that complies with the most strict standard—MIL-STD-461—rather than trying to track several versions of a product that each comply with separate standard.

In 1999, MIL-STD-462 was combined with MIL-STD-461D into MIL-STD-461E.^[5]

References

1. MIL-STD-461, "Requirements for the control of electromagnetic interference characteristics of subsystems and equipment"
2. "MIL-STD-461 Testing"
3. "Anticipated Changes in MIL-STD-461G"
4. "Defense Standards"
5. "Why is MIL-STD-461 an important COTS feature for our military?"

External links

• http://www.com-power.com/application%20notes/AN-104%20Comb%20Generator.pdf
• Official website
• In Compliance Magazine

Further reading

• Mazzola, S. (2009). "MIL-STD-461: The basic military EMC specification and it's evolution over the years". 2009 IEEE Long Island Systems, Applications and Technology Conference. pp. 1–9. doi:10.1109/LISAT.2009.5031566. ISBN 978-1-4244-2347-7.
• Pierce, James D. (2009). Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Requirements for Military and Commercial Equipment (Master's thesis.). Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School.