Defense product certification

NATO develops standardization documents (standards), and their implementation is carried out by member states. The compliance of a defense product with STANAG requirements is assessed, and protocols and certificates of conformity are issued by nationally accredited laboratories, testing and trial centers, and certification bodies.

When starting the assessment of the compliance of a defense product with NATO standards, it is recommended to adhere to the following process consistency:

1. Find out the specific STANAG number(s). It is important to know exactly which NATO STANAG your product must comply with (e.g. STANAG 4569 – Ballistic Threat Protection, STANAG 4370 – Environmental Testing, etc.). There are hundreds of STANAG standards, and each one describes different technical and quality requirements.
2. Contact an accredited testing and trial center, laboratory, or certification body, and inform them of your desire to perform certification. The above-mentioned institutions have not yet been established in the Republic of Lithuania, but you can contact the relevant institutions of NATO countries in other countries. The compliance of a defense product with STANAG requirements can be assessed by, for example, IABG (Germany), TNO (Netherlands), Millbrook (UK), QinetiQ (USA), WITU (Poland), and other accredited centers and laboratories. Certification, testing, and evaluation services are provided by each institution on a commercial basis; the pace of implementation and prices may vary depending on the time, political, economic, or seasonal circumstances, the workload of the institution, etc. Depending on the complexity of the product or system, the duration of certification may vary from one to several months, and sometimes longer.
3. When contacting an accredited testing center abroad, simultaneously inform the national defense institution responsible for military standards - the Defense Resources Agency under the Ministry of Defense (hereinafter referred to as the GRA). The GRA, upon request from the centers, may confirm (validate) the participation of an economic entity in national defense-related initiatives (programs, projects, research, development, acquisitions, etc. processes).
4. After conducting trials or tests on a defense product, retain the documents confirming compliance.

Some publicly available useful links:

WITU – Military Technical Institute of Armaments - AQAP 2110, ISO 9001, STANAG 4569 tests, ammunition, weapons, security www.witu.mil.pl

TNO - Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research - STANAG 4569 ballistic tests, ISO/IEC 17025, ISO 9001 www.tno.nl

EUROLAB STANAG Test Laboratory -STANAG tests: communications, ballistics, EMC www.eurolab.com.tr

BAAINBw – Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Use of the Bundeswehr – one of the most important technical services of the German Bundeswehr, closely involved in the implementation and testing of NATO standards (e.g., STANAG) www.bundeswehr.de