Complete Catalog of Military Standard Parts

Military standards are outlines that different United States military departments and defense agencies have concluded to be optimal for designing, managing, manufacturing, and distributing parts. The purpose in military standards is to achieve the DOD’s standardization objectives which are intended to create a uniform industry that achieves interoperability, reliability, compatibility, and maintainability. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), military standards and military specifications have separate definitions; standards detail processes and acceptable materials to be used in making the product, while specifications detail the required characteristics of the products. Acronyms commonly used interchangeably to describe military standards are: MS, MIL-SPEC, Military Standard, MIL-STD, and Milspecs.

All standards and specifications must be met in order for a part to be qualified as an MS part. These criteria include details that outline the treatment of material, dimensions, testing, durability, wear, service life, etc. MS parts must always be inspected and tested by the U.S. government.

Types of defense standards include interface standards, design criteria standards, and manufacturing process standards, as well as standard practices and test method standards.