thumb|A [[Ford F-Series (thirteenth generation)|thirteenth generation Ford F-150 used by the United States Marine Corps to promote recruitment. This generation of Ford F-Series was infamously marketed as using "military-grade aluminum", despite no such thing existing.]]
"Military grade" (alternatively "military-grade" or "mil-spec") is a buzzword commonly used in marketing and advertising for consumer goods. It is generally used to describe an item or product that satisfies a United States Military Standard, usually MIL-STD-810 for stress testing; however, it is often used as a marketing ploy to describe a product that satisfies any military standard regardless of what it is (if a standard is satisfied at all to begin with), or one that simply uses materials that are also used in military technology ranging from Kevlar to aluminum.
In marketing, "military grade" is meant to symbolize and evoke higher-than-usual levels of toughness, durability, efficiency, and quality, as well as the implication that the product was tested and "approved" by some (non-existent) overseeing body or is regularly used and trusted by militaries—even if none of those are true.
- In 2023, a dispute arose between Leonardo Helicopters and Lockheed Martin relating to marketing terminology used in the British Ministry of Defence's New Medium Helicopter program. Lockheed had claimed other competitors in the program, including the AgustaWestland AW149 built by Leonardo, were not designed or suitable for military use (i.e. military grade), whereas their Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk was.
See also
- Commercial off-the-shelf
- Militaria
- So-called "Corinthian leather"