L-274 Defects: Causes, Classification & Criticality Virtual Plenary Sessions Report Focus Area 4: Criticality of Defects

Defects in munition systems are common and can have a significant impact on Safety and Suitability for Service (S3). In the worst case, munition system defects can lead to catastrophic failure of the munition system with the potential to cause death or serious injury, and damage to platforms or systems with an associated loss of capability.  Despite these potentially serious consequences, guidance and understanding on how to approach, evaluate and assess the significance of defects is limited. This issue is being addressed through the MSIAC Workshop titled “Defects: Causes, Classification & Criticality”, which involves stakeholders from a wide range of munition safety-related backgrounds.

The first workshop element, the virtual plenary sessions, were held 9^th – 11^th March 2021, during which 24 presentations were delivered to over 100 participants from 15 nations. This report presents a review of Focus Area 4: Criticality of Defects, and attempts to identify common themes, problems and opportunities highlighted by this focus area in order to provide a series of recommendations for further investigation and discussion.