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STANAG 4597
NATO nations that ratify the agreement, and the suppliers whose contracts pass on whatever obsolescence-management requirement a nation writes to implement it
STANAG 4597 is NATO's agreement for member nations to apply IEC 62402:2019 on obsolescence management to defence equipment; it binds nations, not suppliers, directly.
STANAG 4597 is NATO's standardization agreement on obsolescence management. It is short: a letter of promulgation and a two-page agreement, not a technical specification of its own. What it does is commit ratifying nations to implement the requirements and guidance of a separate civil standard, IEC 62402:2019, "when undertaking obsolescence management activities... in the development and support of defence equipment." The STANAG defines obsolescence itself as the point an item becomes "unavailable from the manufacturer in accordance with the original specification," which shows up as difficulty sourcing spares or support once a manufacturer drops it from the market.
Like every STANAG, this one binds nations rather than suppliers. Participating nations agree, in the text, "to implement the following standard", which the document names as IEC 62402:2019, Obsolescence management. That civil standard, obtained separately from IEC, carries the actual requirements; the STANAG's own two pages of agreement text set out none. A nation is treated as having implemented STANAG 4597 once it "has issued instructions to include the STANAG in national doctrines, procurement or support programmes and contracts," and it is then the nation, not NATO, that "will develop Obsolescence Management requirements to enable the Supplier and/or the nation to implement and comply with the content of this standard." A supplier meets STANAG 4597 because a specific contract carries that national requirement, not because the STANAG exists.
The document ties obsolescence management to the whole life of the equipment, not to a single event: it is meant to be "an integral part of concept, design, production and in-service planning to ensure an equipment can sustain operational capability to its expected end of life." That puts the useful work at concept and design, well before a part actually becomes obsolete, and continuing through production and in-service support.
This edition supersedes "STANAG 4597, Edition 2, dated 5 August 2010." The change is limited to the civil standard it points to: IEC 62402:2007 is cancelled, and IEC 62402:2019 - published "following a technical review" - takes its place. Nothing else in the agreement changed. "NATO EFFECTIVE DATE (NED): Not applicable" applies here, which is worth noting because some STANAGs do carry a NATO-wide date; this one runs entirely on each nation's own ratification and reporting instead.
Nobody is certified against STANAG 4597. The document names no accredited body, no notified body, and no NATO certification scheme. What NATO actually tracks is each nation's ratification and implementation response, recorded in the NATO Standardization Documents Database and reported "through the electronic reporting tool (e-Reporting)," plus a periodic review of the STANAG document itself "in accordance with AAP-03." Whatever evidence a supplier has to produce is set by the obsolescence-management requirement a ratifying nation has written into its own contracts, not by this STANAG.
IEC 62402:2019 is the standard this STANAG commits nations to implement, and where the actual obsolescence-management process lives. AAP-03 governs how the STANAG itself is reviewed and kept current. The STANAG is free to obtain from the NATO Standardization Document Database; NATO does not charge for its standardization documents and we do not host or sell copies.
STANAG 4597 is a cover agreement. The obsolescence-management work it points to runs in engineering and supply-chain practice, not in software: watching component availability, deciding when to make a last buy or requalify a part, and updating designs before a shortage forces the issue. Where a customer's contract has written in an obsolescence-management requirement to implement this STANAG, ComplyTrain helps hold the paper trail that requirement creates: the procedure itself, records of the decisions made as parts approach end of availability, training records for the people who run that process, and the corrective-action history when something goes obsolete unplanned.
ComplyTrain does not monitor component availability, assess a part's remaining supply life, or make sourcing and redesign decisions - that is the day-to-day handling the standard describes, done by people, not a compliance tool. Which tier of obsolescence-management evidence a particular contract expects is set by that contract and the customer's quality clause, not by us. If you are trying to work out what a tender is actually asking for here, or what else sits alongside this document, the standards explorer is a good place to start, and we are glad to talk it through.
Tell us how you need to work with STANAG 4597 and what you need from it. We will come back to you about what ComplyTrain can do.
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Only through a nation's own ratification and whatever a specific contract requires. NATO nations agree to implement it once ratified, and the document is "effective upon receipt for use by the participating nations and NATO bodies," but it reaches a supplier only when a tender or contract carries the obsolescence-management requirement a nation has written to implement it.
STANAG 4597 is NATO's agreement to use IEC 62402:2019; it does not contain the standard's requirements itself. IEC 62402:2019 is the civil standard, obtained from IEC, that actually sets out the obsolescence-management process. Reading the STANAG alone will not tell you what IEC 62402:2019 requires.
No. The document names no certification body, notified body, or accreditation scheme. What NATO records is each nation's ratification and implementation reporting, through the NSDD and the electronic reporting tool, and a periodic review of the STANAG under AAP-03.
Edition 3, covered here, supersedes Edition 2, dated 5 August 2010. The only substantive change is the civil standard it implements: IEC 62402:2007 is cancelled, replaced by IEC 62402:2019.
That depends on the contract and the customer's quality clause, not on the STANAG's existence. A tender or contract that names STANAG 4597, or asks for obsolescence management to IEC 62402:2019, is the mechanism by which it would reach you.
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