MIL-STD-461F: Electromagnetic Interference Characteristics of Equipment

MIL-STD-461F dictates the requirements for the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of devices and systems created for and used by the United States Department of Defense (DoD). MIL-STD-461F consists of an array of test procedures designed to help manufacturers and operators of electrical devices ensure the devices are not susceptible to electromagnetic interference (EMI) and do not create EMI themselves. The test procedures are broken up into four groups: radiated emissions (RE), conducted emissions (CE), radiated susceptibility (RS) and conducted susceptibility (CS). Procedures are named with one of the two-letter abbreviations followed by a code; for example, RE103, a radiation emissions test procedure specific to antenna spurious and harmonic outputs.       

The EMC of military equipment is vital for the DoD; in military environments both at home and on the battlefield. Everything from smartphones to helicopter navigation systems produces an electromagnetic field and has the potential to compromise the safety, efficiency or secrecy of defense operations. The DoD created an Electromagnetic Compatibility Program in 1960 to address the growing concern that EMI was affecting military operations to integrate electromagnetic compatibility into defense industry R&D. The first version of MIL-STD-461 was then produced in 1967 by a joint committee of the three military branches to implement interference reduction throughout the entire DoD.

Since its inception, MIL-STD-461 has been revised and expanded by the collaborative efforts of the army, navy and air force, with the most recent edition being MIL-STD-461G. The changes made between MIL-STD-461F and MIL-STD-461G can be seen below. Major differences include the removal of CS106 and the addition of CS117 and CS118.

View MIL-STD-461G
 

Differences between MIL-STD-461F and MIL-STD-461G

 

461F	461G	Description	Frequency	Changes
CE101	CE101	Conducted Emissions, Audio Frequency Currents, Power Leads	30Hz - 10kHz
CE102	CE102	Conducted Emissions, Radio Frequency Potentials, Power Leads	10kHz - 10MHz
CE106	CE106	Conducted Emissions, Antenna Port	10kHz - 40GHz
CS101	CS101	Conducted Susceptibility, Power Leads	30Hz - 150kHz
CS103	CS103	Conducted Susceptibility, Antenna Port, Intermodulation	Intermodulation, 15kHz - 10GHz
CS104	CS104	Conducted Susceptibility, Antenna Port, Rejection of Undesired Signals	Signal Rejection, 30Hz - 20GHz
CS105	CS105	Conducted Susceptibility, Antenna Port, Cross-Modulation	Cross-modulation, 30Hz - 20GHz
CS106		Conducted Susceptibility, Transients, Power Leads		Removed - because CS115 already fulfills its intended purpose, to safeguard against equipment performance degradation from voltage transients on ships
CS109	CS109	Conducted Susceptibility, Structure Current	60Hz - 100kHz
CS114	CS114	Conducted Susceptibility, Bulk Cable Injection	10kHz to 200MHz	Clarification added that monitor probe is placed around a second fixture and terminated with 50Ω
CS115	CS115	Conducted Susceptibility, Bulk Cable Injection, Impulse Excitation
CS116	CS116	Conducted Susceptibility, Damped Sinusoidal Transients, Cables and Power Leads	10kHz to 100MHz
	CS117	Conducted Susceptibility, Lightning Induced Transients, Cables and Power Leads		New - derived from RTCA DO-160 Section 22 Lightning Induced Transient Susceptibility for aerospace technology
	CS118	Conducted Susceptibility, Personnel Borne Electrostatic Discharge		New - draws elements from RTCA DO-160 section 25 and IEC 61000-4-2
RE101	RE101	Radiated Emissions, Magnetic Field	30 Hz to 100 kHz
RE102	RE102	Radiated Emissions, Electric Field	10 kHz to 18 GHz	Restricting upper frequency range of test based on highest intentionally generated frequency within the EUT is removed (tests performed up to 18 GHz)
RE103	RE103	Radiated Emissions, Antenna Spurious and Harmonic Outputs	10 kHz to 40 GHz	“Width” changed to “area,” resulting in additional test positions for all EUTs with a height greater than the smallest part of the antenna beam width curve
RS101	RS101	Radiated Susceptibility, Magnetic Field	30 Hz to 100 kHz
RS103	RS103	Radiated Susceptibility, Electric Field	2 MHz to 40 GHz
RS105	RS105	Radiated Susceptibility, Transient Electromagnetic Field

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