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AEP-4780
National defence acquisition authorities and equipment designers who write requirements for dismounted soldier system load-carrying equipment
NATO's recommended design principles and load configurations (fighting, patrol and marching order) for the individual load-carrying equipment combat soldiers wear.
AEP-4780 is a NATO Allied Engineering Publication (AEP), Edition B Version 1, published July 2020. It sets out engineering design principles for the individual load-carrying equipment (LCE) a combat soldier wears: the vests, packs, pouches, straps and belts used to carry ammunition, rations, water and other field items in addition to clothing and a weapon. Its stated purpose is to support interoperability and to assist the materiel acquisition community, those setting requirements for dismounted soldier system (DSS) equipment, and those doing research, development, testing and evaluation of it (clause 1.1).
The document defines three standard load configurations, each built on the one before it. Assault/Fighting Order carries the essential weapons, ammunition, rations, batteries, water and personal protective equipment a soldier needs for a tactical activity of limited duration, kept as light as possible (clause 2.2). Patrol/Approach-March Order adds a daypack of extra ammunition, rations, water and clothing, built for up to 24 hours away from base with limited to no resupply (clause 2.3). Marching Order adds a further pack of rations, clothing and equipment for operations 24 to 72 hours in duration, letting a unit move and fight while only needing to resupply consumables such as ammunition, rations, batteries and water (clause 2.4).
Chapter 3.1 lists the design criteria for the equipment itself, seventeen items in all. They cover versatility across the three load orders and across terrain and climate; a quick-release or "rapid doffing" mechanism to convert marching order into fighting order without removing the whole rig; freedom of movement; fast, unassisted access to the respirator, ammunition and CBRN protective items, with nations left to define what counts as "fast and easy"; a balanced load with minimal stress, strain and shearing forces; adjustability for changes in PPE or clothing bulk without upsetting the load's distribution; compatibility with ballistic protection, environmental and operational clothing, and any seating in combat vehicles, aircraft or vessels; a minimum number of separate items, with a footnote making clear that load carried in clothing pockets still counts toward the soldier's total load even where it reduces the item count in the equipment itself (clause 3.1, item h and its footnote); quick, easy assembly and donning and doffing, day or night; minimal snag hazards from shifting, swinging or flapping parts; accessible, glove-usable openings and closures that keep out water and sand; secure attachment within pouches with easily adjustable fit; a chest and front kept as clear as possible of load-carrying compartments so items such as magazines stay reachable; minimal straps across the chest or abdomen other than a belt; and a set of material properties covering weight, durability, water and rot resistance, self-extinguishing performance as nations define it, ventilation, colour-fastness, noise, field maintainability, and resistance to petrol, oil and lubricants.
A final camouflage requirement calls for matching the equipment's colour, pattern, gloss and luminance to the combat clothing and background it is used against, including infra-red and shortwave infra-red detection characteristics - largely "as defined by the nation" or the National Authority.
The document is explicit that these criteria are "NOT listed in any particular order of priority as they are mostly interdependent", and that some may have to be accepted as "sacrificed" to some degree where load-carrying equipment is worn over, or integrated into, a body armour system (Chapter 3).
AEP-4780 does not bind by itself. It is covered by STANREC 4780, a NATO Standardization Recommendation rather than a ratified STANAG, so no national ratification obligation attaches to it. The document's own words are that "It is recommended that nations apply the principles below when designing individual load-carrying equipment" - a recommendation to a nation's own design and acquisition authorities, not a requirement placed directly on a supplier. It reaches a supplier only where a nation, or a contract, chooses to write these principles into a requirement.
NATO publishes AEP-4780 free of charge through the NATO Standardization Document Database. We do not sell it or host a copy of it.
Working to AEP-4780's principles is design and engineering work, done on the equipment itself, not in software. What ComplyTrain supports is the paper trail around that work: holding design requirements that trace back to specific principles (the quick-release conversion criterion, the CBRN-access criterion, the minimum-item-count criterion), recording design reviews that checked equipment against them, and keeping training records for staff who need the Assault/Fighting Order, Patrol/Approach-March Order and Marching Order definitions for procurement, doctrine or interoperability work. Where a nation's own criteria for "fast and easy" access or camouflage matching feed into a specification, ComplyTrain can hold those as controlled documents too.
ComplyTrain does not design load-carrying equipment, run wear trials, measure camouflage luminance or infra-red reflectance, or decide whether a rig meets AEP-4780's principles. That judgement sits with the national design and acquisition authority the document addresses, working to whatever tier of standards the contract and the customer's quality clause set. If AEP-4780 or STANREC 4780 sits inside a requirement you are working to, the standards explorer shows what else is invoked alongside it, and we are glad to talk through what documenting the work would involve.
Tell us how you need to work with AEP-4780 and what you need from it. We will come back to you about what ComplyTrain can do.
Thank you. Your list is on its way to your inbox, and we will come back to you on what working with these standards in ComplyTrain involves, usually within one business day.
AEP-4780 is a NATO Allied Engineering Publication that sets design principles for the individual load-carrying equipment (vests, packs, pouches, straps and belts) worn by a combat soldier, and defines the standard Assault/Fighting, Patrol/Approach-March and Marching load orders. The current edition is Edition B Version 1, published July 2020.
No. It is covered by STANREC 4780, a Standardization Recommendation rather than a ratified STANAG, and the document itself says nations are recommended, not required, to apply its principles when designing load-carrying equipment. It only becomes something a supplier has to meet where a nation or a contract writes it into a requirement.
Assault/Fighting Order is the lightest, essential-only load for a tactical activity of limited duration. Patrol/Approach-March Order adds a daypack for operations of up to 24 hours away from base. Marching Order adds a further pack for operations of 24 to 72 hours, each order building on the one before it.
No. The document names no accredited certification body, notified body or government surveillance scheme, and describes its own principles as guiding criteria that may need to be sacrificed in some configurations rather than fixed pass/fail requirements. Nothing in it is something a product is certified against.
STANREC 4780 is the NATO Standardization Recommendation that covers AEP-4780. It is what nations are invited to endorse; AEP-4780 itself is the engineering publication holding the technical content.
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