
MIL-STD-810G
PART ONE
FOREWORD
1. This standard is approved for use by all Departments and Agencies of the Department of Defense (DoD).
Although prepared specifically for DoD applications, this standard may be tailored for commercial applications as
well. While MIL-STD-810F incorporated a significant revision of MIL-STD-810E, MIL-STD-810G not only
consolidates the basic -810F with its three change notices to result in one comprehensive document, but also
includes a number of corrections, significant changes, and additions to the comprehensive -810F, to include five
new test methods, one of which (Method 526) was extracted from Method 516. The primary emphases are still the
same – (with the exception of Method 528) tailoring a materiel item's environmental design and test limits to the
conditions that the specific materiel will experience throughout its service life, and establishing laboratory test
methods that replicate the effects of environments on materiel, rather than trying to reproduce the environments
themselves. However, the "G" revision continues the up-front explanation of how to implement the environmental
tailoring process throughout the materiel acquisition cycle.
As in MIL-STD-810F, this revision recognizes that the environmental design and test tailoring process has
expanded to involve a wide range of managerial and technical interests. Accordingly, this revision orients
environmental design and test direction toward three basic types of users who have distinctly different, although
closely associated, interests: program managers who, among other responsibilities, ensure proposed concepts and
systems are valid and functional in intended operational environments; environmental engineering specialists (EES),
who enter the acquisition process early to assist combat and materiel developer tailoring efforts by preparing life cycle
environmental profiles and drafting tailored design criteria and test programs; and the design, test, and evaluation
community, whose analysts, engineers, and facility operators use tailored designs and tests to meet user needs.
2. Part One describes management, engineering, and technical roles in the environmental design and test tailoring
process. It focuses on the process of tailoring materiel design and test criteria to the specific environmental
conditions a materiel item is likely to encounter during its service life. New appendices support the succinctly
presented text of Part One. Annex A contains complete descriptions of environmental engineering tasks. These
tasks, along with management information in Annex B and EES guidance in Annex C, will help to ensure the
environmental design and test tailoring process is implemented and documented according to the disciplined, but
flexible approach to materiel acquisition called for in Department of Defense (DoD) 5000-series documents (DoDD
5000.1). Terms used in this standard relating to the materiel acquisition process are limited to terms used in the
DoD 5000-series documents; to avoid confusion and promote simplicity, service-specific terms/processes are not
used.
3. Part Two contains environmental laboratory test methods to be applied according to the general and specific test
tailoring guidelines described in Part One. It is important to emphasize that, with the exception of Method 528,
these methods are not to be called out in blanket fashion, nor applied as unalterable routines, but are to be selected
and tailored to generate the most relevant test data possible.
To support the tailoring process described in Part One, each test method in Part Two contains some environmental
data and references, and identifies tailoring opportunities for the particular method. Some methods afford a wide
latitude for tailoring; some can be tailored up to established limits, and some have relatively few tailoring options.
Whenever possible, each method contains background rationale to help determine the appropriate level of tailoring.
Each test method supports the test engineer and test facility operator by describing preferred laboratory test
facilities and methodologies. Any specific tailoring information and values contained in these test methods should
be supplanted by more up-to-date field/fleet or program-specific information when available.
When applied properly, the environmental management and engineering processes described in this standard can be
of enormous value in generating confidence in the environmental worthiness and overall durability of materiel
system design. However, it is important to recognize that there are limitations inherent in laboratory testing that
make it imperative to use proper caution and engineering judgment when extrapolating these laboratory results to
results that may be obtained under actual service conditions. In many cases, real-world environmental stresses
(singularly or in combination) cannot be duplicated practically or reliably in test laboratories. Therefore, users
should not assume that a system or component that passes laboratory tests of this standard also would pass
field/fleet verification trials. DoD 5000-series documents call for component technology to be demonstrated in
PART ONE-ii