Understanding the susceptibility of digital avionics to HERF

It is suggested that the high-power RF hazards of electromagnetic radiation to flight (HERF) issue is characterizable in terms of one major and one minor effect. The major effect is the detailed understanding of the coupling of the internal field into the aircraft wiring and electronics. The minor effect is in the statistical characterization of the external field penetration into the interior of the aircraft taken across the fleet. These effects can now be well defined through analysis and specifically verified through tests instead of radiating the entire aircraft with high-power external fields and trying to observe upsets and malfunctions in the operational functions of these systems. It is now possible to design protective means into the electronic circuits and verify them through a combination of calculations and low level tests. It is concluded that no longer is it necessary to have isolated pass/fail criteria