The defense industry requires rapid communications, power delivery, and other electric needs in the most remote locations on earth. In fact, wiring and cabling for defense and military applications makes up a large proportion of the custom cable manufacturing market. Additionally, military cabling needs to be abrasion- and compression-resistant to withstand the rugged and often demanding environment of military applications. Here are a few things to consider when designing custom cable for military applications.
Lightweight Field Comms
One of the most important aspects of mission success in the field is being able to communicate intelligence and geographic information quickly and securely. For this type of applications, cable needs to be lightweight and designed for superior performance in transmitting secure, even encrypted, signals with speed and reliability. Similar to the wiring used in connecting microphones and headphones, custom communications cables are ideal for the use in radios, push-to-talk applications, auxiliary systems, and other portable communications devices.
Rugged Applications
Most military applications require devices to be extremely rugged and durable in order to handle many types of cabling needs. From shielded cables to injection molded mil-spec connectors, there are a variety of different materials and construction methods to ensure rugged and reliable communication and power transmission in the field. Cables may need to be flexible, but shielded from the compressive force of humvees or tanks repeatedly driving over them, or from being repeatedly coiled and uncoiled. Finally, they often have to be abrasion resistant as well, particularly in desert conditions where sand can quickly erode insulating materials.
Weather Proofing
The theater of war often takes place in a harsh environment necessitating highly-engineered custom cables. Be it at sea, in the desert, or high in the mountains, military cable must be prepared for any environment. This means being able to withstand triple digit heat, or below zero cold, rain or even complete submersion in water, as well as arid desert conditions. By choosing the appropriate insulating and outer jacket materials your cables will be guaranteed to withstand even the most inhospitable conditions.
Variety of Materials
Whenever you partner with a top custom cable assembly provider, you will likely have a design engineer, with experience in military applications, assigned to your account. This professional will help you select between tinned or Beryllium copper, carbon fiber, or even radio translucent wire to help conduct the strongest and clearest signals possible. You can choose from Teflon and PVC insulating materials, among others, and otherwise completely customize the design of your wiring or cabling needs to your exact specifications.
Installation in Vehicles
One of the more common electronic applications on today’s battlefield is communications systems in defense automobiles, including humvees, tanks, and the MRAP or Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle. It is important for troops in these vehicles to be able to receive and transmit intelligence quickly, accurately, and without being subject to snooping from outside forces.
When you custom order cable, you have the opportunity to choose connectors that rapidly speed installation, or even custom labeling of wires to help you or your technicians install them correctly. Technical drawings and instructions are typically provided as well to help your labor force transition to using the new materials quickly and easily.
Click here to speak to a top custom cable manufacturing specialist about getting the best in cabling and wiring products for your next defense industry application!