Support and Test Equipment

The Support and Test Equipment (S&TE), is all equipment (mobile or fixed), required to support the operation and maintenance of a product. This includes associated multi-use end items, maintenance equipment, tools, metrology and calibration test equipment and automatic test equipment. TE is part of the ILS element of S&TE and can be classed as:

1. General Purpose Test and Measurement Equipment (GPTME). Those items that are common to more than one product, platform or system, and is further defined within JSP 509: The Management of Test Equipment.
2. Special Purpose Test and Measurement Equipment (SPTME). Those items which are designed, developed, produced and used solely for one product, platform or system.

Test Equipment can be further defined as:

1. Test Equipment (TE) within the MOD is defined as those items which are used to provide an indication of system, equipment or component serviceability, and / or evaluate the ability of the system or equipment to meet precisely defined performance or measurement standards. It also includes simulators, where they are used to provide a standard against which performance or measurements are evaluated.
2. Automatic Test System (ATS) is defined as a system which includes Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) and all associated items (eg test fixtures, test software etc), required to test a Unit Under Test (UUT). ATE is usually a computer-driven approach to testing in which the computer is used to control, via test software or firmware, complex test instruments to provide stimuli to, and measure, the response from a UUT.

TE is supplied to ensure that the material state of those equipments being tested can be verified. In order to meet the legal duty of care obligations, it is a requirement that all TE must comply with all statutory European and UK Health and Safety legislation for the environment in which they are to be used or operated.