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DEFENCE · STANDARDS

What Is MIL-STD-464?

MIL-STD-464 sets the electromagnetic environmental effects (E3) requirements for a whole military system or platform. It is the system-level counterpart to the equipment-level MIL-STD-461, covering EMI, lightning, ESD, EMP and bonding across the platform.

01

The Short Answer

MIL-STD-464 defines electromagnetic environmental effects (E3) requirements at the level of a complete system or platform, an aircraft, vessel or vehicle, rather than a single box. Where MIL-STD-461 qualifies a piece of equipment, MIL-STD-464 makes sure all the equipment, antennas and structure coexist and survive the wider electromagnetic environment.

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    Intra-system EMC Subsystems must not interfere with one another.
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    Lightning & EMP Survivability against high-energy electromagnetic events.
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    ESD Electrostatic discharge during handling and operation.
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    Bonding & grounding Controlled paths so the platform behaves as one electrical system.
02

Why It Matters

For a computer being integrated into a platform, MIL-STD-461 compliance is what supports the platform-level MIL-STD-464 case. The two work together: equipment-level control feeding the system-level requirement.

See our overview of U.S. military standards (MIL-STDs) for how this fits alongside the others.