Meeting the standards for defence supply

The conditions of supply to military customers, relating to product qualification and approvals, are not well understood. The picture is often confused by multiple requirements and conflicting advice.

In this article, Steve Hayes, Director, EMC Division at TRaC, global specialist in test and regulatory compliance for military and commercial products, highlights the issues relating to the supply of material to the UK’s defence industry and defines the requirements in the case of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC).

Product approval for commercial items is well understood, full compliance is achieved by the majority of suppliers and a ‘level playing field’ has been established.  The issue becomes more difficult when products are to be supplied to the MoD, when a number of exemptions to commercial legislation apply, especially relating to product approval.

Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment in the EU must be CE marked (or E-marked in the case of automotive products) to signify that it complies with all relevant CE directives.  CE marking directives already apply to the vast majority of products and cover aspects such as safety of machinery, electrical equipment, equipment used in explosive atmospheres, EMC, acoustic noise, children’s toys etc.  The purpose of CE marking is to provide a uniform approach to product approval and the removal of trade barriers within the EU.  It is intended to promote the EU’s internal market and increase the quality and safety of products.

Many CE marking directives, however, specifically exclude products which are covered by the Treaty of Rome (now replaced by the Treaty of Amsterdam).  These include a broad breadth of equipment used by the military and intelligence communities.  The list of equipment does not, however, cover all those products that are painted green and hence typically designated as military.  It is limited to those products which on the whole have been specifically designed for a military application and would never see use outside of that arena.  A main battle tank would be a good example of such a product.

‘Just because a product is painted green doesn’t necessarily exempt it from CE marking.’

If a COTS product is supplied to the armed forces, it clearly will also have uses and applications in a non-military environment.  It will therefore need to be CE marked.  However, dependant on its use, it may also need to comply with military requirements.  Take a rugged laptop computer as an example.  It has uses in just about every environment, is not specific to the military and yet if used in a military environment may not function properly if co-located near to high power radio equipment.

Equipment Supply Requirements - EMC

The MoD (or more specifically the DE&S E3 authority, which is responsible for EMC has divided all of the products it buys into three categories.  These are as follows:

Category 1 equipment is exempt from the requirements of the EMC Directive.  However MOD policy is that for military equipment, the applicable Harmonised EMC Standards, under relevant EU Directives, apply to those interfaces that connect directly to public utilities.

Category 2 equipment has a non-military use and hence does not come under the military exemption of Article 296 of the Treaty of Amsterdam (Ex Article 223, Treaty of Rome).  This must meet the applicable EU Directives, Harmonised EMC Standards and/or British Standards for its non-military applications before it can be put on the military market.  Compliance with these standards would normally be the responsibility of the equipment manufacturer/civilian procurer.

Category 3 equipment must also comply with the relevant Harmonised EMC Standards including the EMC Directive.

Approval Requirements – Safety-related Directives

In addition to EMC approvals, there may be other CE marking directives that relate to a given product.  The policy of the MoD is very clear when health and safety are concerned and has been highlighted by successive politicians in the House of Commons.  In a nutshell it is as follows:- “Like all employers, MoD and the Armed Forces must comply with legislation and, as a Department of State, comply with policies defined by Government or other lead Departments.  The Secretary of State for Defence requires that MoD and the Armed Forces comply with all health and safety, environmental protection and fire legislation so far as is reasonably practicable, and must apply equivalent standards where it does not apply, or when operating abroad outside the jurisdiction of UK law.”

It is therefore clear that any CE marking directive that is safety related must be applied to products supplied to the MoD.  A non-exhaustive list of relevant directives is as follows:

• Machinery Safety Directive (98/37/EC)
• Low Voltage Directive (2006/95/EC)
• Personnel Protective Equipment (89/686/EC)
• Potentially Explosive Atmospheres – ATEX (94/9/EC)

Compliance with these directives, as well as the EMC Directive (2004/108/EC), is typically demonstrated by the application of Harmonised Standards.  Harmonised Standards are published in the Official Journal of the European Union and give a presumption of conformity to the directive.  In some cases, mainly safety critical equipment, a Notified Body may have a voluntary or mandatory involvement to ensure that the correct assessments have been carried out and the product is suitable for the environment for which it is intended.

To sum up, it is important that manufacturers of products supplied to the MoD are aware of CE marking and which directives are applicable.  It is both the product and the environment in which it is intended to operate that dictate what the compliance requirements are.

Many tender documents supplied by the MoD have a clear requirement indicating which directives are relevant.  However, there are other cases in which broad statements such as 'must comply with all relevant CE marking directives' are made.  In these circumstances, dependant on the knowledge of the manufacturer, products submitted through the tender process will yield differing performance.

TRaC is a supplier to the MoD for EMC services and provides advice and guidance to other suppliers and manufacturers wishing to tender for business on approval requirements. TRaC has expertise in the fields CE marking and military approvals and is able to advise on how the requirements interface with one another.