This standard is used to qualify shipboard equipment for the environmental vibrations and internally excited vibrations encountered during operation of the equipment aboard ship.

In some special machinery, equipment, or installations (such as antennae, large machinery items, and certain unique designs), it may be necessary to deviate from this standard.

Type I vibration testing is intended to qualify new equipment for exposure to shipboard vibrations during the lifetime of the ship.

The primary purpose of Type I vibration testing is to prove the physical and functional integrity of equipment when subject to a prescribed steady-state vibration environment. The results of the application of this standard do not provide a definitive determination of the tested item's natural frequencies and mode shapes.

This standard does not cover vibrations associated with reciprocating machinery or those associated with propulsion and shafting. For these types, see MIL-STD-167-2.

The primary purpose of the application of this standard to Type II vibrations is from the standpoint of mechanical suitability, and not from a structureborne noise standpoint. See MIL-STD-740-2 for noise suitability of equipment.