MIL-HDBK-240 is concerned with Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordnance (HERO) testing for all Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps ordnance items and support equipment, for all mission areas. Although this handbook is intended primarily for use by DoD HERO test activities, it also provides a consolidation of corporate knowledge about the subject that should be of interest to procurement authorities and system developers.
This handbook supplements MIL-STD-464 by providing guidance for verification of the HERO requirements in that standard. Documentation associated with HERO testing is described in Appendix A of this handbook.
This handbook has four specific objectives:
- Document HERO Tri-Service test methodology
- Promote test standardization
- Identify alternate techniques and instrumentation
- Facilitate the exchange of HERO test data
Ultimately, HERO test data are used to determine the maximum allowable environment (MAE) for ordnance and weapon systems containing electrically initiated devices (EIDs). MAE information is used to assess HERO risks and develop effective control measures to minimize those risks.
HERO assessments are made essentially to determine how EIDs respond to the electromagnetic environment (EME) that could be encountered by the ordnance throughout its service life. This response can be influenced by three principle factors:
- EME characteristics
- Physical configurations of the ordnance
- Handling procedures
Each factor must be considered in the context of the stockpile-to-safe separation sequence (S4), that is, from the time it leaves the storage facility until it is at a safe post-launch location or in a safe post-deployment configuration.
When defining the operational EME, one must anticipate not only the individual Service EME, but also the EME in Joint-operation scenarios. As an example, Army and Air Force helicopters, loaded with Army/Air Force ordnance, were exposed to Navy shipboard EME levels during Operation Restore Democracy. As a result, there were numerous concerns relating to safe storage and checkout of weapons that were not necessarily designed for, much less tested to, the Navy's unique shipboard EME levels. As Joint operations became more commonplace, there is an increased likelihood that weapons form one Service will be exposed to another Service's EME levels. MIL-STD-464 specifies the requirements for HERO certification.
