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Aeronautical Design Standard, United States Army Aviation and Missile Command - Aircraft Electrical Power Characteristics

he characteristics of Army helicopter electrical power have
been governed by MIL-STD-704, which is a DoD interface standard that establishes the
requirements and characteristics of aircraft electric power provided at the input
terminals of electrical electronic utilization equipment. As new helicopters have
emerged over the years, different versions of MlL-STD-704 have been applied to
different type/model/series aircraft according to the latest version at the time of
procurement. Some of the electrical characteristics specified by the different versions of
MIL-STD-704 have remained fairly constant, while others have changed significantly.
Table I describes the various versions of MlL-STD-704 that were cited in contractual
documents for those aircraft. It should be noted that the quality of individual aircraft
electrical power may be better than (or worse than) that required by the specified
version of MlL-STD-704. There is generally no contractual obligation to maintain the
“better than” state, and testing usually only documents whether the aircraft meets the
requirements. It typically does not measure the actual performance. Unless deviations
from MlL-STD-704 are reflected in appropriate contractual documents, it is not included
here. (In the case of fixed-wing aircraft, the Army has normally bought these aircraft off-
the-shelf with the electrical power characteristics of the basic aircraft being governed by
RTCA/DO-160. In some instances, modifications to the aircraft have been required as a
result of the addition of military hardware designed for MlL-STD-704 electrical power.)

The primary purpose of this standard is to provide the requisite
information to promote compatibility between aircraft electrical power, external electrical
power, and the airborne equipment that uses that power, with MlL-STD-704 serving as
the governing document. Accordingly, the content of past versions of MIL-STD-704 is
presented here to enable comparisons of the detailed requirements. To ensure that an
individual piece of equipment will work satisfactorily in multiple types of aircraft, a worst-
case set of electrical interface criteria should be developed from the applicable versions
of MlL-STD-704 and subsequently imposed as an interface requirement for that
equipment to ensure compatibility with the various types of aircraft being addressed.