**3. Radiation resistance of gas-filled surge arresters**

The radiation resistance of gas-filled surge arresters (GFSA) is of great importance, especially if the devices are applied in operating regimes with constant, occasional, or potential exposure to ionizing radiation. Natural or artificial atmospheric electromagnetic pulses can cause varying levels of damage to electronic components. Thus, GFSA are very important overvoltage protection components for low-voltage applications in both the military industry and space exploration technologies. Testing of GFSA in comparison to other nonlinear surge arresters has indicated the feasibility of replacing commonly used semiconductor overvoltage components (transient suppressor diodes, metal-oxide varistor), whose protective characteristics significantly degrade when subjected to the radiation [4, 6].
