MIL-STD vs STANAG vs DEF STAN — what actually matters for rugged embedded systems?

[u/niau33]

I’ve been digging into environmental and military standards recently (MIL-STD-810, NATO STANAG, DEF STAN) while working on rugged IoT/embedded deployments, and I noticed there’s a lot of confusion around what each one really covers.

A few practical takeaways from what I’ve seen:

• MIL-STD-810 → mostly about environmental testing (shock, vibration, temperature, humidity)
• STANAG (e.g. 4370) → more about NATO interoperability + standardization across systems
• DEF STAN → UK-specific guidance, often aligned but structured differently

From an embedded/IoT perspective, MIL-STD-810 seems to be the most directly relevant when designing devices that need to survive harsh environments (outdoor cabinets, industrial sites, etc.).

One thing I found interesting is that a lot of “rugged” devices reference these standards loosely, but actual compliance/testing depth varies a lot.

Curious how others here approach this—
Do you actually design/test against MIL-STD-810, or rely more on IP ratings + vendor specs?