Technical Guidance Note 26

TOPIC: Large systems for the defence market

ISSUE: 2

REVISION DATE: 27.1.98

PREVIOUS REVISION DATE: 6.9.95

BACKGROUND: Large systems for the defence market often rely on special-to-type equipment (STTE) for setting to work, fault finding and calibration. It is not clear that such an STTE requires to be built to, or perform to, any particular EMC standard or to be subject to the European Directive 89/336/EEC.

PROBLEM: What is the situation regarding the EMC requirements (89/336) to be placed on STTE in the two situations;

(a) The STTE is not designed for the commercial market and will only be used in conjunction with the main system

(b) The STTE is designed for both the defence and commercial market and may be sold commercially?

GUIDELINES: Where the STTE is not designed for the commercial market and will only be used in conjunction with the main system, then under Article 20 of the UK Regulations, this type of equipment is excluded from the scope of the Directive.

(However note that this exclusion for military equipment is not uniformly applied across the EU.)

As soon as the STTE has a commercial application, then it must meet the requirements of the Directive by any of the accepted routes.

Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability can be accepted by the EMC Test Laboratories Association or any of its officers or members for the contents, specifications and/or advice referred to or contained in this Technical Memorandum and/or action taken as a result of information contained in this Technical Memorandum. Note that:
1. The Association is not by supplying this Technical Memorandum providing professional advice or guidance to any specific party on any specific matter and no legal relationship is created by the provision of this Technical Memorandum.
2. Parties should take specific advice when dealing with specific situations and consult their own professional advisors in this regard.
3. Members are free to deviate from the above guidelines where they think it appropriate, unworkable, or not commercially viable. Under these circumstances, the EMCTLA Secretariat should be informed of the reasons for the deviation so that the matter can be reviewed.