Military Specifications Current and Future Trends Larry Harzstark Distinguished Engineer The Aerospace Corporation 1 November 2012 The Aerospace Corporation 2009 Page 1
Purpose The Aerospace Corporation What Is An FFRDC Topics of Discussion Principal Functions Background Military Specs and Standards Philosophy Specification Process Specification Challenges Current Specifications Non-Government Specifications and Standards Future Trends Summary Page 2
Purpose of Presentation This presentation will provide an overview of the current and future trends for military specifications as viewed by The Aerospace Corporation for use in US Air Force and NASA Space Programs Page 3
The Aerospace Corporation Created in 1960 as a California non-profit corporation Governed by a Board of Trustrees Operates a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) sponsored by the US Air Force Page 4
What Is An FFRDC FFRDCs Are sponsored by government agencies (DOD, DOE, IRS, others) Provide objective advice and perform research and development activities in highly complex technological disciplines Work in the national interest Are administered independently to ensure objectivity Are dedicated to the success of their sponsors Page 5
Aerospace Principal Functions Launch Certification (Mission Assurance) Validation of flight vehicle processing Certifies readiness for flight Systems of Systems Engineering Architecture planning and development Space Systems Development and Engineering Assess design performance and risk Full lifecycle support Process Implementation Military specifications, standards and process development Page 6
Background The current US Air Force space programs utilize the Aerospace Parts, Materials and Processes (PMP) Technical Operating Reports (TORs) as the basis for the contractually obligated management and technical requirements Programs can tailor or modify the requirements based upon the nature of the program, purpose of the program, duration, etc The documents govern how parts are selected, characterized, screened, qualified, controlled and monitored for change The documents identify the parts, materials and processes that are known to be reliable and have a heritage for space missions The documents define the use of the military specifications and standards as the first order of precedence in the selection process If a military specification or standard is not available or additional requirements need to be imposed, a contractor Specification or Source Controlled Document is generated utilizing the military document as the guideline Page 7
Military Specifications and Standards Military specifications and standards are controlled by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Land and Maritime in Columbus, Ohio DLA Land and Maritime has two (2) organizations that interact relative to the specifications and standards Document Standardization Division Responsible for the technical and administrative functions of a document including generation and maintenance Responsible for the interpretation of the requirements within a document Sourcing and Qualification Division Responsible for evaluating suppliers and qualification and the maintenance activity Responsible for the auditing of the supply base to ensure compliance to the requirements of the documents DLA Land and Maritime maintains lists of the Qualified Manufacturer s Lines (QML) and Qualified Products Lists (QPL) Page 8
Military Specifications and Standards Philosophy In the mid 1990 s, the government revised the philosophy of the military specifications and standards from defining the requirements and specific How To perform and meet the requirements to just defining the requirements This was now referred to as Performance Specifications The purpose of the philosophy change was to allow the suppliers to utilize their Best Commercial Practices in meeting the performance requirements and thereby reduce the costs of the parts and materials being procured This concept change also allowed a manufacturer to gain approval of his manufacturing facility and processes that governed all or many of his products and then qualify the individual product Page 9
Specification Process DLA Land and Maritime assigns a spec writer to a supplier who wants to develop a part or material that is new and does not have a current document written The supplier and DLA work closely together to generate the document listing all the pertinent information Maximum Ratings Recommended Operating Conditions Temperature and Electrical Testing Qualification and Quality Conformance Inspection Screening Electro Static Discharge - ESD (if applicable) Handling and Packaging If another manufacturer wants to be added to the document, they must meet all the requirements defined Page 10
Specification Change Process When it is determined that a change(s) is required to the document, DLA will send a notice to the industry describing the change and rationale and request comments within a specified time period (usually 30 days) Based on the comments, DLA will incorporate or reject the proposed change If the changes are considered major or needs further discussion, the supplier will discuss with the industry at the JEDEC/G-12 meetings held three (3) times/year Based upon those discussions, another round of comments are requested for approval/rejection If approved, DLA incorporates into the document and identifies a date that implementation must be completed After that implementation date, DLA will audit the manufacturer to ensure compliance to the changes Page 11
Specification Challenges Testing Requirements Defining the tests that can be performed for production versus characterization Test equipment capabilities for new generation parts Changes Changes being requested by manufacturers and industry with little or no data for justification Changes to older documents that no longer have viable sources Reviews and Comments By Industry Reviews within the timeframes identified Additional changes requested as part of the review cycle Additional changes requested outside the review cycle Space Requirements Addition of requirements to electrical performance across temperature Addition of radiation requirements Validation of thermal requirements Page 12
Specification Challenges (contd) Obsolescence No current supplier due to technology changes and/or profitability Identification of Users Not all users are registered and therefore when changes are being discussed, users may not be queried as to impact of a change Integrated Circuit and Hybrid Manufacturing Specifications being interpreted broadly to allow hybrid manufacturers to build monolithic devices and monolithic manufacturers to build hybrid type devices Concern is which specification is employed to manufacturer the devices Page 13
Current Specifications Discrete Semiconductors MIL-PRF-19500 Rev P, dated 16 May 2012 MIL-STD-750 Rev F, dated 3 January 2012 Hybrids MIL-PRF-38534 Rev H, dated 13 September 2010 MIL-STD-883 Rev H, 26 February 2010 Microcircuits MIL-PRF-38535 Rev J, dated 14 May 2012 MIL-STD-883 Rev H, 26 February 2010 Passives Capacitors MIL-PRF-123 Rev D, 28 September 2007 Transformers and Inductors MIL-STD-981 Rev C, dated 1 July 2010 Capacitors MIL-PRF-39003 Rev M, dated 15 March 2011 Resistors MIL-PRF-55342 Rev H, 16 August 2012 MIL-STD-202 Rev G, 8 February 2002 Page 14
Non-Government Specifications Specifications and standards not controlled by DLA Land and Maritime are either under the auspices of other government agencies such as NASA or industry societies such as the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) These other agencies are responsible for the generation and maintenance of the documents but not for evaluating compliance to the requirements DLA Land and Maritime does not and will not perform audits against these other documents DLA will only perform audits against the specifications and standards they control Revisions to these non-government documents are controlled by the agency responsible for the document (i.e SAE, JEDEC, etc) Agencies wanting a voice or knowledge of the changes would need to inform that agency of their interests Page 15
Future Trends Do not foresee changes to the systems that currently govern the military specifications and standards and how changes are processed Changes being requested/implemented to reduce costs Do see that more commercial device suppliers are requesting to get into the military QML system Expand their usage of devices beyond commercial Need to educate suppliers about military QML system and requirements More concern for counterfeit and malware Potential changes in specifications to mitigate concerns based on US Presidential Law National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) relative to financial responsibility by users if counterfeit product is observed in defense hardware/software Page 16
Summary Presentation described The Aerospace Corporation role and responsibilities as a Federally Funded Research and Development Center Independent agency providing information to customers Presentation provided an overview of current and future responsibilities of DLA Land and Maritime relative to specifications and standards Sets the process for specification requirements and controls The process for generating specification and standards was described in addition to how changes are proposed and implemented The basic number and current revision of military part specifications was defined Several challenges with the current military specifications and standards were identified Non-governmental controlled specifications were discussed Future trends for specifications were defined Page 17