USAF Publishes MIL-HDBK-516D, Airworthiness Certification Criteria

MIL-HDBK-516D, Airworthiness Certification Criteria, a Department of War document used in the assessment of Airworthiness, was published on 29 May 2026.  This is the culmination of a 3-year effort with the US government and industry to update the “C” version of the document to provide for increased understanding, minimizing redundancies, and ensuring AW-related criterion.

Some key organizational aspects to be aware of: The criterion includes a standard and method of compliance; the previous criterion statement is no longer there. The method of compliance is divided into 2 sections, verifications needed in advance of flight testing and remaining verifications needed in support of operations or operational testing. 

Additionally, the method of compliance verifications is delineated into four types: examination, analysis, demonstration, and test (lab, ground and flight), with each type having a counter to visually the number of verifications.

The Dayton Aerospace website contains this document, along with numerous other documents related to AW at USAF Airworthiness Certification Library | Dayton Aerospace.  Additionally, DAI is recognized by the USG, including MIL-HDBK-516D, as a reference for AW and other engineering documentation.