DoD E3 Activities

Bob Goldblum
Associate Editor

As I reported in my initial article, which appeared in the Summer 1997 issue of the EMCS Newsletter, the Joint Spectrum Center (JSC) is, among other things, the lead DoD Standardization Activity for EMC standards. Since a great deal of effort has been placed on the area of harmonization of military and civilian E3 standards over the past two years, I thought that I would devote this article to it, specifically the role and activities of the Defense Industry EMC Standards Committee (DIESC).

In accordance with the policy established by the June 94 memo of then Secretary of Defense Perry, the DoD started a program to maximize the use of commercial equipment (CI) and non-development items (NDI). As a result, the DoD was forced to evaluate the commercial E3 standards which these equipments are usually required to meet. For example, since the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is only concerned with controlling conducted and radiated emissions over a limited frequency spectrum, it did not provide much of a challenge in terms of a comparison to the MIL-STD-461D/462D requirements usually called out in military equipment procurement specifications. The European Norms (ENs) developed under the auspices of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) offered a wide range of differing EMI control and test requirements which lend themselves to comparisons with MIL- STD-461D/462D requirements and test procedures. Considering that most American products are designed to be shipped to Europe and must meet the European EMC requirements, the DIESC focused on comparing the MIL-STD-461/462 EMC requirements with the IEC requirements as well as other industry standards to determine whether or not the commercial requirements were suitable for military applications. These comparisons were based upon the application, the test methodology, test instrumentation and the test limits of the requirements.

The DIESC is co-chaired by Mr. Stephen Caine, JSC Director of Plans and Programs, and Dr. Ralph Showers, chairman of the American National Standards Committee C-63. Membership on this Committee is diverse, with government representatives from the Army, Air Force, Navy, Defense Special Weapons Agency, Joint Spectrum Center and NASA. Industry representation was from the SAE AE-4, EIA G-46, NEMA, and the IEEE, ANSC-63.

The committee realized that the military environments were very severe, with some radiated susceptibility criteria exceeding the MIL-STD-461 level of 200 V/m by as much as 20 dB or more. Thus, it was assumed that some of the limits in the IEC requirements would not meet the needs of the DoD. On the other hand, if the test methods were satisfactory, there could be some harmonization between the two sets. Ad hoc committees were set up to study each of the MIL-STD-461 requirements and to compare them to the related industry requirements.

Studies were performed, reports were prepared and discussions concerning the results were conducted during the DIESC Committee meetings. This work is still ongoing and is expected to be completed by June 98.

The results of this effort will be twofold. First, an Acquisition Guidance Handbook for DoD Procuring Activities will be prepared for use as a reference when purchasing commercial equipment and determining its suitability for use in military applications and environments. The handbook will show comparisons between applicable commercial and MIL-STD-461/2 requirements. A draft of the Acquisition Guidance Handbook will be circulated to limited DoD activities in early 1998.

The second result will be an ongoing series of recommendations to the ISO, IEC, and other standards authorities on how the differences between the military standards and the commercial standards can be resolved to reflect a more universally-acceptable set of standards. This effort could signify the first step towards a worldwide EMC standard (a concept which I have long championed).

The work performed by DIESC is both timely and comprehensive and will be shared with the rest of the EMC community in an appropriate manner. With the additions of Korean, Australian, and other national EMC regulations, the work of DIESC could be perpetual.

I would like to remind those interested in DoD E3 activities that a Joint E3 Bulletin is available at no charge. Subscription applications can be obtained on www.RBitem.com. All applications are subject to approval by Mr. Marcus Shellman of the Joint Spectrum Center (JSC/J52) (shellman@jsc.mil).

The DoD is also planning its annual E3 conference, officially referred to as the DoD E3 Program Review at the Omni Rosen Hotel in Orlando, Florida, from April 6 -10, 1998. Service meetings will be conducted on Monday, April 6. The DoD E3 program reviews will take place on Tuesday through Thursday, April 7-9, and will include a tour of the NASA facilities at the Kennedy Space Center.

Specific topics to be addressed include modeling, simulation, data bases and international programs. A half-day session will be designated to specifically address E3 issues during the acquisition process. This session is a must for program managers, acquisition managers and their E3 staffs. Additional information, available at www.jsc.mil and www.RBitem.com, will also be published in the Joint E3 Bulletin. The complete program will be mailed to the Joint E3 Bulletin subscribers. Information can also be found on the referenced web sites.

In my next article, I will focus on the results of the DoD E3 Program Review and other aspects of the DoD Joint E3 Program being implemented by the JSC. I will also provide a status report on DIESC activities. Readers are invited to send their comments to me at the address shown on page 3 of this Newsletter.

Written inquiries are preferred over telephone calls. Let’s keep in touch.

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