Electronic Military & Defense magazine was developed for engineers, program managers, project managers, and those involved in the design and development of electronic and electro-optic systems for military, defense, and aerospace applications.
Issue link: https://electronicsmilitarydefense.epubxp.com/i/707574
Regulatory The First International Standard For Tactical Fiber Optic Cables The IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) aims to ensure consistent quality and clear language among manufacturers, suppliers, and installers. Q&A; with Tuvia Liberman, CTO, Teldor Cables & Systems M ost cables used today for military/defense applications (often called "tactical cables") demonstrate highly enhanced mechanical and environmental performance when compared to their civilian cousins. Over the past 20 years, more and more designers and procurement officers have been transitioning from copper-based (twisted pair or coaxial) conductors to optical fiber communications. With the promise of exceptional bandwidth, lighter weight, and reduced outer diameter, coupled with immunity to electromagnetic noise (and wiretapping), fiber optic communication cables for military/defense applications have all but become the norm. Professional designers, product engineers, and procurement officers make extensive use of international standards to guarantee quality and to create a common and clear language with all their manufacturers, suppliers, and installers. Adherence to such a standard ensures that everybody along the food- chain is comparing "apples to apples." Keeping this in mind, it seems rather curious that only recently was the first international standard for optical fiber tactical cables, IEC 60794-3-70, globally approved and published. The initiator, editor, and project leader of this standard within the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), Tuvia Liberman — CTO of Teldor Cables & Systems — recently discussed this important document with Electronic Military & Defense (EM&D;). EM&D; — Fiber optic tactical cables have been operational for over 25 years. Why did it take until 2016 for international standards to develop a standard? Liberman — Designers and manufacturers of cable have seen, over the years, a consistent migration from dedicated military specifications (e.g., MIL-Spec) to the use of accepted civilian standards, with supplemental requirements for the military/defense application space. Fiber optic cables are no exception. In the past, army procurement, defense departments, and military alliances often created project-based or proprietary specifications for their fiber optic cables. However, both within the IEC and among my own company's customers, there has grown a worldwide sense of readiness to specify fiber optic tactical cables according to internationally recognized and approved standards. EM&D; — Why the IEC? Liberman — When it comes to the standardization of cable products and relevant test methods on a global scale, the IEC, established in 1906, is the most widely accepted global standards body, with the largest number of participating National Committees. Within the IEC, a specific group named Sub-Committee 86A, "fibres and cables," creates and updates international standards for fiber optic cables, with active participation by experts from all the major manufacturers, test houses, large-scale customers, and national committees worldwide. EM&D; — Was this standard an "easy sell" in the IEC? Liberman — If you like to run a full marathon, then I guess you could call it an "easy sell." We originally proposed the project in March of 2012, and it was Electronic Military & Defense Annual Resource, 6th Edition 14 "We've basically taken all the hard work out of writing a product specification for quality fiber optic tactical cables. Rather than having to specify every characteristic, test method, pass/fail criteria, etc., you just need to refer to the standard."