The future of military standards. A focus on electronics

The growing perception that with cutbacks in the military and the changing international economic environment, the military must rely on commercial industries in order to afford the next generation of high-performance and high-reliability military systems is discussed. One issue associated with the question of whether an industrial base for the military can be provided and maintained without major changes in the operation of both the government and commercial industry is examined, namely, whether commercial standards can effectively supplant military standards and still provide high performance and reliability for military missions.<>