U.S. and
Canada
Pasternack Blog
The US defense standards, commonly referred to as MilSpec, are developed by the US DoD for the purpose of enhancing interoperability among critical defense systems. The goal of the standards is to provide precise descriptions on the procedures and practices for the design, manufacturing, and deployment of military devices and equipment. Ultimately, the standards aim to increase the maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) capability across the US military organizations.
The military standards are presented in several forms, defense handbooks, standards, performance specifications, detailed specifications, and specifications. The DoD has a standard for the development of standards, Defense Standards Program policies and procedures (DoD 4120.24-M), MIL-STD-962, MIL-STD-967, and MIL-STD-961. An updated registry of the standards can be found here.
Though these standards provide an array of material on achieving military grade components and devices, there are many more factors to contend with when providing military grade components and equipment for deployment or distribution. These include ensuring that parts and materials are provided from approved vendors, known as the Qualified Manufacturers List (QML) and the Qualified Parts List (QPL), provided by the Defense Logistic Agency (DLA) Land and Maritime.
Also, import and export of military grade components and systems is also heavily regulated by organizations, such as International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and the Export Administration Regulations (ERA). For these reasons, sourcing and supplying military grade components and devices is often a complex process that comes with long lead times and cumbersome paperwork. However, there are some suppliers that provide some in stock components that could meet military standards, but don’t include the military designations that restrict their immediate sale with same day shipping.
