OEM and Custom Development
Most OEM work starts with a constraint rather than a blank sheet. A fixing centre that cannot move, an existing connector that has to be matched, a voltage rail that is not 24V, a beam pattern that has to clear a bull bar, or a standard the incumbent part no longer meets. We work from the constraint outwards.
Development, engineering and production are in-house, which means specification changes are handled by the people who build the part rather than passed down a supply chain. Betalight has been manufacturing lighting since 1992 and is ISO 9001 certified.
Customized LED lighting solutions crafted according to your specifications
What We Take On
- Modification of an existing product: a different connector, lens, bezel, mounting interface, cable length or housing colour on a proven platform, which is the fastest route to a fitted part
- Optical development: beam pattern designed to the sightline and mounting position of the platform rather than to a generic road profile
- Electronics and drive: multi-voltage input, dimming, dual-mode visible and infrared switching, CAN or discrete control, and blackout switching logic
- Infrared and NVG-compatible variants: wavelength selected to the night vision equipment in service, with visible output suppressed to the level the role requires
- Qualification to a named standard: parts designed against the environmental, electrical and EMC requirements written into the contract
- Housing and materials: sealing class, impact resistance, corrosion protection and finish specified to the theatre rather than the catalogue
- Identification and marking: customer part numbering, labelling and packaging to the customer’s own scheme
- Full new-build development: where nothing existing is close enough, a product designed from the requirement up
Qualification and Compliance
The standard is usually the hard part of the requirement, not the light. Parts are designed against the standards written into the programme, and we can advise at specification stage on which requirements will drive cost and lead time before they are frozen into a contract.
Standards we design against include MIL-STD-810 for environmental testing, MIL-STD-461 for electromagnetic interference, MIL-STD-1275 for vehicle power, MIL-STD-3009 for night vision imaging system compatibility, and MIL-PRF-32212 for LED military vehicle lighting performance.
On the NATO side, STANAG 4381 governs blackout lighting and STANAG 3224 covers tactical vehicle lighting requirements. Sealing is specified by IP rating to the exposure the platform will actually see.
Our full standards knowledge base explains each of these in plain language, which is worth reading before a specification is written rather than after.
How a Project Runs
- 1. Requirement: platform, role, environment, the standards that apply, mounting and electrical interfaces, and expected annual volume
- 2. Feasibility and concept: whether an existing product can be modified or a new design is needed, with the cost and time difference stated plainly
- 3. Design: optical, mechanical and electronic design against the agreed specification, with drawings for review
- 4. Prototype: samples for fit, function and trial on the actual platform, which is where most specifications change
- 5. Qualification: testing against the named standards and issue of the supporting documentation
- 6. Series production: release to production with an agreed supply schedule, part numbering and packaging
- Armoured and tactical vehicles: headlights, signal and rear lighting, interior lighting, and blackout lighting to NATO requirements
- Infrared and covert: infrared vehicle lighting, IR illuminators and convoy marking matched to night vision equipment in service
- Aviation: aircraft and rotary lighting, cockpit and cabin lighting, formation and anti-collision lights, and NVIS-compatible interior lighting
- Naval and marine: ship lighting, deck and flight deck lighting, and navigation and status lighting
- Shelters and infrastructure: deployable shelter lighting, area lighting and emergency way guidance
- Dismounted and identification: soldier equipment and identification systems, including markers, beacons and IR signature management
We also supply vehicle manufacturers outside defence, in specialty vehicles, bus and truck, motorcycle, agriculture and rail and tram. The engineering is the same; the qualification requirements are not.
Volume and Lifecycle
Defence volumes are not automotive volumes. A vehicle programme may need a few hundred units a year across a fleet that stays in service for decades, and a supplier geared only to high-volume runs is the wrong partner for that. We develop for the volume the programme actually has.
Platform life is the other half of it. Components go obsolete faster than the vehicles they are fitted to, so a part specified today has to remain supportable through mid-life upgrade and beyond. We hold that in view at design stage and support in-service fleets with spares and replacements rather than discontinuing a part when the catalogue moves on.
Products carry a standard three-year warranty, with RMA and warranty terms published in full.
Procurement and Compliance
Registrations and references a procurement team will ask for:
- CAGE Code H1U51
- DUNS 416901775
- VAT NL801345728B01
- ISO 9001 certified
- NATO Stock Numbers assigned across the range, listed in the NSN product list
- Export control and ITAR considerations addressed at enquiry stage
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on what the project involves. Modifying an existing product, for example a different connector, lens or mounting interface, carries far lower set-up cost than a new design and is viable at modest quantities. A full new-build development needs enough volume across the programme life to carry the tooling and qualification. Tell us the expected annual quantity at enquiry stage and we will say honestly which route makes sense.
Yes. We build to customer specification, including customer part numbering, labelling and packaging. Where a requirement will drive disproportionate cost or lead time, we will flag it at review rather than quote around it silently, because a specification frozen without that conversation usually gets reopened later.
Parts are designed against the standards named in the programme, including MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-1275 and STANAG 4381. Which test levels apply, and which are tailored out, is agreed at specification stage, since the standard alone does not determine the test plan.
Usually it is the simplest kind, and often the most useful. Matching an existing connector, fixing centre or voltage rail avoids rework on the vehicle, which is where the real cost sits on a retrofit programme. Send the interface details with your enquiry and we will tell you whether a catalogue product already meets them.
Most OEM projects begin with a product from the standard range and change what needs changing. Browsing the vehicle lighting range first is often the quickest way to identify a starting point, and a quotation request naming the closest catalogue product tells us more than a blank specification.
Tell us the platform, the standard and the volume. If an existing product can be modified to fit, we will say so rather than quote a development programme you do not need.