Radiation study for Qinetiq

has been awarded a £1.9m contract by the

(MOD) Research Acquisition Organisation (RAO) to assess the vulnerability of components within military equipment to naturally occurring radiation.

The five-year study will help the MOD manage the likely impact of exposure to naturally occurring radiation earlier in the design and development cycle.

According to Qinetiq, military equipment is increasingly reliant on commercially sourced components, such as high-density memories, gate arrays, processors and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Unlike many components designed specifically for military use, such commercially available components are rarely hardened against radiation exposure.

Naturally occurring radiation can cause reliability issues for the advanced electronics used in a range of systems operating at high altitudes, including aircraft, unmanned systems and missiles. Natural radiation at sea level has the potential to cause problems for ground-based equipment. In certain circumstances, exposure to radiation can cause component failure, which in turn can cause problems at system level.