MIL-STD-810G vs MIL-STD-810H: What Is the Difference?

MIL-STD-810G and MIL-STD-810H are revisions of MIL-STD-810, the US Department of Defense standard for environmental engineering considerations and laboratory tests. 810G was issued in October 2008 and updated by Change Notice 1 in 2014. 810H was issued in January 2019, superseded 810G and is the current version, itself updated by Change Notice 1 in 2022.

The change was refinement rather than a rewrite. Both revisions have the same structure: Part One on environmental engineering and tailoring, Part Two with the laboratory test methods, and Part Three with climatic data for the world’s regions. Methods were clarified, some procedures and tailoring guidance updated, a shipboard vibration method added and the document reorganised.

Neither revision is a certificate. MIL-STD-810 describes how to test; the program or the manufacturer chooses which methods to run and at what severity. A claim of “MIL-STD-810H tested” means little until you see which methods were run and to what levels.

Each test method carries a number and a revision suffix, so 514.6 is the sixth revision of Method 514, vibration. The table compares the methods most often quoted for rugged computers and tablets.

810G Change Notice 1 issued interim revisions of some methods, such as 514.7 and 516.7, so a report may quote those numbers. The method number tells you which revision was used even when the report does not name G or H.

Most changes refine the procedures rather than make tests harder or easier. The ones most relevant to electronics are:

Equipment qualified against 810G is not obsolete, and many manufacturers continue to report 810G results because their test campaigns predate 810H or were run to a customer specification that cites G. Re-testing an established product only to change the revision letter is costly, so 810G reports remain valid evidence for many programs.

For most ruggedness purposes the two are read interchangeably. What matters is which methods were run, which procedures within each method, and to what levels. A contract that cites 810H may still accept 810G data if the methods and severities are equivalent, but that is the customer’s call.

The same applies to older revisions. 810F (2000) and even 810E data still appear on long-lived products. The further back the revision, the more the procedures differ, so older reports deserve a closer read against the current method. If a program needs a specific method that the report does not cover, extra testing on the chosen configuration is usually cheaper than re-running the full campaign.

Ask for the test report and read the methods and levels, not the revision letter alone. A product “tested to MIL-STD-810H” tells you little until you see which of the methods it was subjected to and at what severity.

MIL-STD-810 is the most widely quoted standard on rugged computers, tablets and laptops, in defense and well beyond it. Our overview of US military standards explains how 810 fits alongside the EMC and power standards, and our guide to rugged computers shows how environmental testing fits into a rugged design. Most systems in our rugged computers and military tablets ranges list the 810G or 810H methods they were tested to.

We supply rugged and military computers with the manufacturer’s MIL-STD-810 test data, and integrate and test each system before it ships. Tell us the environment and the methods your program needs, and we will shortlist systems with matching evidence.