Seven key questions to ask when EMC Testing to Military and Aerospace standards

If you are familiar with EMC testing to Military and Aerospace standards, then you will already be aware that there are a plethora of tests which appear to offer the same thing. You might therefore ask yourself if you have tested against one, why invest more money on testing to any of the other similar standards as well?

However, ensuring a product is fully EMC compliant is not simply down to picking what appears to be the test that requires meeting the most stringent limits. Before deciding on which standard or standards to which you’re going to test a product, it is critical to carry out an evaluation of the product and the specific environment it will need to operate in.

In order to do this, Element recommends asking seven key questions:

• Is the product identical to the previous system in every relevant way?

• Are the limits it was tested against at least as harsh in every area as the new environment?

• Is it going to be used in the same way?

• Is the functional testing that was performed relevant to this environment?

• Were all required tests performed last time around?

• Will your customer accept ‘read across’?

• If the product fails in the field, will your paper justification be strong enough?

In addition to this, there are specific methods pertinent to each standard. For example, RTCA/DO-160 requires an insulated buffer between the EUT and the ground plane, which is not a requirement in DEF STAN 59-411 or MIL-STD 461.

Element’s Military and Aerospace EMC testing and qualification services are designed to provide validation against an extensive range of standards including:

• Civil aerospace: RTCA DO-160 – up to and including revision G

• Defence aerospace: DEF STAN 59-411; DEF STAN 59-41; MIL-STD 461

• Airframers’ specific qualification requirements which many manufacturers demand such as: ABD 0100 (Airbus) and D6-16050 (Boeing)

To learn more about EMC testing of products to the required military and aerospace standards, please contact Element’s specialist military and aerospace EMC team by emailingcontact.us@element.comor calling+ 1 888 786 7555 (US) or+44 808 234 1667 (UK).