STANAG 4695 soldier power connector electrical connectivity

What it is

STANAG 4695 is a NATO Standardization Agreement, currently Edition 2, dated 14 October 2021. It is not a technical specification. It is the agreement by which NATO nations commit to ratify and implement AEP-4695, Edition B, the Allied publication that actually sets out the electrical connectivity standards for the soldier power connector between NATO power sources and dismounted soldier system (DSS) equipment. The connector-level detail a reader usually wants lives inside AEP-4695, not inside this five-page cover. Read on its own, STANAG 4695 requires almost nothing of a supplier directly. Its obligations run to nations, and it reaches a contractor only indirectly, once a nation has ratified and implemented it and a contract or tender names AEP-4695's requirements.

What the agreement responds to

The stated aim is "to respond to the following interoperability requirements." Four are named: to standardize electrical parameters for soldier power interoperability; "to describe the interfaces, responsibilities for power conditioning, and sources of power"; "to address as per definition Level 2 interoperability as described in the standard mentioned below"; and to meet the NATO defence planning process (NDPP) target on advanced individual combat capability. Under "Agreement," participating nations agree to implement the following standard: AEP-4695, Edition B. None of this is written as a duty on a supplier; it is a duty on the nation.

Who it binds, and how

STANAG 4695 is explicit that it binds nations rather than organisations. It "is effective upon receipt for use by the participating nations and NATO bodies." Nations that have not already ratified it are invited to "advise the NSO of their intention regarding its ratification and implementation." So "is STANAG 4695 mandatory" has no single answer. It depends on whether a given nation has ratified and implemented it, and, for a supplier, on whether a specific contract or tender then invokes AEP-4695's connector requirements as a result.

A cover agreement, not the connector specification

A reader who only has STANAG 4695 in hand does not yet have the electrical connectivity requirements themselves - AEP-4695 holds those. Two other documents are named under "Other related documents": STANAG 4677, which covers AEP-76 on dismounted soldier system command, control, communications and computers (C4) interoperability, a different interoperability layer from the electrical connector this document addresses, and a working paper, AC/225(DSS)-D(2017)0003, on soldier-system interoperability's over-arching definition.

Implementation, supersession and review

STANAG 4695 states that the agreement "shall be considered implemented when nations have equipped their forces with dismounted soldier system batteries or adapters that meet the requirements documented within the covered standard." Once that has happened, "Allies and NATO bodies shall provide implementation details through the electronic reporting tool (e-Reporting)," and partner nations are invited to do the same. The NATO Effective Date is stated as "Not applicable." This edition "supersedes the following document: STANAG 4695, Edition 1, dated 21 June 2016." The STANAG "is to be reviewed in accordance with AAP-03," with the result recorded in the NSDD. It is supervised under NATO's CNAD, AC/225 NAAG, LCGDSS committee structure, per the record's publisher data.

What it does not cover

STANAG 4695 names no supplier obligation directly: every duty in the text runs to "nations," "Allies," "participating nations" or "NATO bodies," never to a contractor or manufacturer. It also names no assessment or certification scheme of any kind. The only stated check is that the agreement itself is reviewed periodically against AAP-03, not that an organisation, a connector or a battery/adapter is certified.

Standards it references

• STANAG 4677Background
• AEP-76Background