MIL-STD-188

MIL-STD-188 is a series of U.S. military standards relating to telecommunications.

Purpose

Faced with "past technical deficiencies in telecommunications systems and equipment and software…that were traced to basic inadequacies in the application of telecommunication standards and to the lack of a well defined…program for their review, control and implementation", the U.S. Department of Defense looked to develop a series of standards that would alleviate the problem.

By 1988, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) issued Instruction 4630.8 (reissued in 1992, 2002, 2004) stating its policy that "all forces for joint and combined operations be supported through compatible, interoperable, and integrated Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence systems. …[and that all such] systems developed for use by U.S. forces are considered to be for joint use." To achieve this the director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is charged with "developing information technology standards to achieve interoperability and compatibility…[and ensure that all] systems and equipment shall conform to technical and procedural standards for interface, interoperability, and compatibility".