MIL-PRF-46374G Watches
With MIL-PRF-46374G a new idea in U.S. Military purchasing was introduced, the Performance Standard. The military no longer specifies endless detail on the design of the watch, they just state what performance tests it has to meet. This gives manufacturers more leeway to be innovative and hopefully gets a better product for the troops at lower cost. Note that some watches under the prior standard have been procured this way, under MIL-PRF-46374F.
In the G standard, issued 12 November 1999, the most noticeable change is on the dial where all extraneous markings have been removed. Only the H3 and radiation symbol remain so users can focus on the hands and numbers. The case back has similar markings to earlier models.
Under MIL-PRF-46374G, the Navigator watch is now called Type III, Class 1, new terminology for the Type 6 of the prior standard. Typical markings for these watches:
WATCH, WRIST: NAVIGATORS
MIL-PRF-46374G
6645-01-364-4042
26 MILLICURIES
NRC ID: 54-28526-01E
SPO440-00-D-0168-0005
JAN 2003
CAGE 38775
The CAGE Code refers to Marathon. Some watches of lower grades have been produced by reference to MIL-W-46374G, not a performance spec. In 2000, Stocker & Yale withdrew from the military watch and compass business and sold that division of the company to Cammenga & Associates, Inc. a maker of the U.S. Army Lensatic Compass among other products. Cammenga later stopped making watches leaving Marathon the sole supplier of watches to the U.S. Military.