Delkin Blog

The military has unique needs for flash storage that exceed even those of industrial grade products. Military solid state drives, or SSDs, are designed to meet those needs. Military SSDs are unique in their ruggedness, reliability, and erasability, allowing them to function in the most demanding of environments while providing the highest possible levels of security for some of the world’s most delicate data.

SSDs provide superior protection for military users.

SSDs are an alternative to HDDs, or hard disk drives, for storage. HDDs are designed around a disk that records all necessary data. This process is stable, but for military users, it isn’t necessarily secure. SSDs use memory chips to store data semi-conductors to flip arrays in response to specific electrical charges. The data are stored on these NAND flash chips instead of on the drive itself, and the only movement is with the patterns of electricity, rather than a disk.

Military grade SSDs offer increased protection for sensitive data for a simple reason: they are easy to erase. In an SSD, critical data can be erased within a matter of seconds in most cases, through a single command. HDDs take hours to erase. When information is vulnerable to being accessed by unauthorized users, a near-instantaneous erase feature is invaluable.

Military SSDs can be erased from a distance.

The risk of a military device falling into the hands of an unauthorized user is always present. Unlike industrial SSDs, military grade designs allow data to be erased with a simple software command or, in some cases, with a switch. If the device is lost during the erasing process, the process cannot be reversed, since cutting the power only pauses it. If an erase command has been triggered, then it will go through to completion any time the device is powered on.

Operating conditions play a central role in military SSDs.

Industrial SSDs are designed to work in conditions with extreme temperatures, shock, and vibration, but the demands of military conditions go further. Military SSD devices can be built to meet even more extreme conditions than typical industrial uses, including in terms of temperature and shock, which are common factors in military environments. Typically, military grade SSDs can be customized in many of the same ways as industrial SSDs for mission-specific needs and reliability.

Military users are encouraged to contact Delkin to discuss the needs of their operating environment in order to find a viable storage solution. Our engineers can assist with custom designs and testing to ensure the utmost reliability for military SSD applications.