Have you ever watched a rocket take off and wonder how the insides don't get fried from the heat of the engines or have you ever seen footage of a tank taking fire and have it still remain functional? You are seeing Mil-Spec wire and cable in action.
In fields such as the military and aerospace industry, it is important that all equipment used is up to code, safe to use, and, most importantly, durable. That is what Allied Wire and Cable's Mil-Spec wire and cables are all about.
Mil-Spec Basics
Mil-Specs, or Military Specifications, is a term that refers to the standards used to help achieve objectives in The United States Military. In a job as important as the military or the aerospace industry, it is imperative that all equipment meets very specific requirements such as commonality, reliability, the total cost of ownership, and compatibility with logistics systems.
Allied Wire and Cable's line of Mil-Spec wire and cable meets these requirements and can be applied to a very wide range of categories including aerospace, shipboard, hook-up, communications, and many more. In order to understand the true importance of these standards, it is also important to acknowledge where these standards originated from.
A Brief History
In the Second World War, many of The Allies' military standards did not match one another, making it difficult for The Allies, specifically The British and The United States, to share equipment and machinery with each other.
After The Second World War, Mil-Spec standardization was created and, with it, many benefits, including the ability to swap out vehicle subsystems in the highly likely event that they were to be damaged in combat. However, while this standardization did bring benefits, there were some who set it as restrictive.
Mil-Spec Today
It has been argued that a large number of standards, nearly 30,000 by 1990, imposed unnecessary restrictions, increased cost to contractors, and impeded incorporation of the latest technology.
In 1994, the DOD, run by Secretary of Defense William Perry at the time, issued a memorandum that prohibited the use of most defense standards without special permission from the government, and many defense standards were subsequently canceled.
Many providers of different equipment, such as Allied Wire and Cable, provide products that still meet very specific, Military level standards so as to ensure durability and functionality no matter the hazards that may come upon it.