MIL-HDBK-272A

Abstract

This handbook provides safety design and evaluation criteria which apply to nuclear weapon systems and their associated equipment for which funding and tasking are the responsibility of NAVSEA or appropriate Program Executive Officer (PEO) and Project Managers (PMs). <br>The purpose of this handbook is to provide safety design and evaluation criteria for nuclear weapon systems and associated equipment. This handbook is primarily to provide guidance, and should not be interpreted as a contractual requirement. However, when an existing system is modified, the system should be evaluated to determine the extent to which these criteria should apply. This handbook contains extensive citations of reference documents such as MIL STD and MIL SPEC. In order to enhance the usefulness of this handbook, some attempt has been made to paraphrase certain essential and key information from cited reference documents. Additionally, in order to extend the useful lifetime of this handbook, new concepts and technologies which are likely to be used in new or modified nuclear weapon systems are considered. Examples include fiberoptics, integrated real-time processors, smart fuzing sensors, high energy lasers, reduction of human role, automatic target recognition and stealth technology. Because of the rapidly increasing requirements for software and firmware control associated with these new concepts and technologies, criteria dealing with software and firmware are addressed in considerable detail. <b><u>Intended Use:</u></b> Documents used within the scope of this handbook are intended to be used to obtain safe and secure nuclear weapons, components, equipments, subsystems, and systems. This handbook is for information and guidance for acquisition engineers, contractors, program managers, and others responsible for nuclear safety and security as related to the DoD. This handbook is intended to provide the guidance needed to ensure that the nuclear weapons systems meet the DoD safety standards. <br>