STANAG 4396 sympathetic reaction test procedures agreement

What it is

STANAG 4396 is a NATO Standardization Agreement, not a technical test method in its own right. It is the agreement by which participating nations commit to a single publication, AOP-4396, which "gives guidelines on the way a sympathetic reaction test shall be performed". The technical content - how the test is set up and run - lives in AOP-4396 itself, not in this STANAG. What the STANAG does is commit nations to use it, name it in their own national instructions, and keep changes running through the same NATO process that created the agreement.

Why it exists

The stated aim is interoperability: NATO nations need "a common approach to assessing the safety of munitions when exposed to extreme but credible threats, so that nations can all communicate and understand risks." Participating nations agree that the requirements and procedures in the standard will be used for assessing how a munition or weapon system responds, if at all, to another munition of the same type reacting close by. Where a nation writes its own standards, orders, manuals or instructions to implement AOP-4396, those documents are required to reference STANAG 4396 for identification.

Changes are not made unilaterally: "no departure may be made from this agreement without consultation with the NATO tasking authorities/delegated tasking authorities (TA/DTAs)", and a nation proposing a change has it processed the same way the original agreement was.

Edition and currency

This is Edition 3, promulgated 18 December 2020, and it supersedes STANAG 4396 Edition 2, dated 15 April 2003. The document states a NATO Effective Date (NED) of "Not applicable" for this STANAG.

Ratification and implementation

These are two separate steps, and the document is explicit that they are recorded differently. Ratification responses go into the NATO Standardization Document Database (NSDD). A nation is considered to have implemented the agreement once it "has issued the necessary orders and instructions to the relevant authorities, putting the contents of this agreement into effect", and both allies and NATO bodies report implementation details through NATO's electronic reporting tool (e-Reporting); partner nations are invited to do the same.

Ratifying nations are specifically required to implement STANAG 4396 "in accordance with recommendations provided in AOP-4396 Chapter 2" whenever full-scale sympathetic reaction testing of an energetic material, or a device containing one, is carried out to assign a hazard classification or assess a munition's insensitiveness. Outside that trigger, the STANAG does not place an obligation on its own.

Review

The STANAG is reviewed in accordance with AAP-03, NATO's own standardization directive, and the result of that review is recorded in the NSDD.

What it does not cover

This page describes the agreement, not the test. AOP-4396 carries the test procedures, thresholds and set-up; this STANAG carries none of that content, and neither does this page.

Related documents

The document names three related references. STANAG 4123 covers determination of the classification of military ammunition and explosives, under AASTP-03. STANAG 4439 covers the policy for introduction and assessment of insensitive munitions, under AOP-39. It also lists the United Nations' ST/SG/AC.10/11, the Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Manual of Tests and Criteria, which sits outside the NATO catalogue. It is reviewed against AAP-03.

Standards it references

• STANAG 4123Background
• AASTP-03Background
• STANAG 4439Background
• AOP-39Background