What are the CE Marking Requirements for Military Equipment?
Certain directives have specific exclusions for military equipment, and there is also a blanket exclusion under the treaty of Rome which member states may claim where they believe their national security interests are at risk. However, this is something the member state Government has to apply and cannot simply be claimed by the manufacturer of ‘military equipment’. It is important to note that the equipment actually has to be specifically military in nature to be eligible for exclusion where such an exclusion is given in the directives. Accordingly it must have only a military (or police) application (e.g. it must be an offensive weapon of some description). Just because it is being sold to the armed forces does not make it automatically exempt from the CE marking requirements and in most cases the regulations implementing the CE directives specifically say that dual use equipment (i.e. equipment which is sold for both military and civilian purposes) must be CE marked.
