• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

US Military

  • Branches
    • Army
    • Navy
    • Air Force
    • Marine Corps
    • Coast Guard
    • National Guard
    • Air National Guard
    • Find A Recruiter
  • Find A Recruiter
  • Military Benefits
    • GI Bill
    • VA Loans
    • Military Scholarships
    • Military Friendly Colleges
    • Money
  • Jobs
    • Military Pay Chart
    • Veteran Jobs
    • Civilian Jobs
  • VA Loan Rates
  • Military News
    • Top News
    • Benefits
    • Careers
    • Education
    • Featured Columnists
      • Larry Fowler
      • Scott Ostrow
      • Kim Lengling
      • Dr. Sasha Toperich
      • Rick Stewart
  • USM Shop
  • GI Bill
  • VA Loans
  • Military Scholarships
  • Top Military-Friendly Colleges and Universities in America

New Process to Save Army Money, Yield Cheaper Rounds

February 25, 2015 By admin



McALESTER, Okla. (Feb. 25, 2015) – A new process at McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, or MCAAP, will make more recovered projectile bodies viable for reuse in the production of field artillery training rounds and provide the military with a cheaper and safer munition, Army officials said.

An estimated 95 percent of obsolete and unserviceable D563 projectile bodies recovered from the “soft touch” demilitarization process can feasibly be reused in the 155 mm M1122 high explosive, or HE, munition being manufactured at the plant. The new process changes how the base plate is removed from the projectile so the threads remain intact.

“The new ‘soft touch’ of the manual download line will allow us to use almost all of the downloaded projectiles for M1122 and other programs that reuse those bodies,” said Scott Sullivan, M1122 project manager at MCAAP.

“The value is that units get more training for their training dollars,” he said. “It’s basically half the price. It’s also environmentally-friendly and it’s an insensitive munition, which means it’s safer to store, transport and handle. It could also be used by other military services.”

The new round is manufactured with Insensitive Munition Explosive-101, or IMX-101, which replaces TNT and Composition B. IMX-101 provides a more stable fill because it’s less likely to explode if it’s in a fire, hit by another munition or mishandled during transport.

The work is being funded by Project Manager for Combat Ammunition Systems in coordination with Product Manager for Demilitarization, both at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., and is estimated to save the Army $79 million through fiscal year 2020, according to the M1122 Project Office at Picatinny Arsenal.

The new “soft touch” download process is expected to begin in March.

Projectile bodies recovered at MCAAP are also shipped to Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas, where they are used to manufacture M1123 infrared and M1124 visible light illuminating artillery rounds.

Manufacturing the M1122 entails salvaging the old projectile body and base, removing and demilitarizing the submunitions inside the old Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition, or DPICM, round, and loading, assembling and packing the new round.

“This is a new program that is really the right product at the right time,” Sullivan said.

While MCAAP has manufactured projectiles for the Air Force and Navy for many years, Sullivan said there are differences between them and the M1122 artillery round being produced for the Army.

“There are more critical quality characteristics on a single 155 projectile than there are on a bomb and every one of these must pass X-ray inspection,” he said.

The new workload is welcome news for the MCAAP workforce.

“Between the download of the DPICM rounds, the cleaning and inspection of the bodies we will reuse, and the load, assembly and pack of the 1122, it represents jobs for 40 to 50 people,” Sullivan said.

MCAAP completed first article acceptance testing of the M1122 and began full-rate production in June 2014. Sullivan said the current projection has the plant work-loaded through 2019.

“We see this as a good stable source of revenue for years to come,” he said.

McAlester Army Ammunition Plant is the Department of Defense’s premier bomb- and warhead-loading facility. It is one of 14 installations of the Joint Munitions Command and one of 23 organic industrial bases under the U.S. Army Materiel Command, which include arsenals, depots, activities and ammunition plants. MCAAP is vital to ammunition stockpile management and delivery to the Joint Warfighter for training and combat operations.

Filed Under: daniel articles, National Guard, Top News

[related_posts_by_tax format="thumbnails" limit_posts="100" image_size="sidebar-thumbnail" public_only="true" posts_per_page="6"]

Primary Sidebar

USMilitary.com Career Guide

Sign up to receive USMilitary.com email updates and to hear what's going on with all military branches!

Featured Columnists

Larry Fowler

Larry Fowler is the publisher of USMilitary.com Network one of America's premier privately owned

Autobiography Compares Living Faithfully With Navy SEAL Training (BUD/S).

Scott Ostrow

Lt Col (Dr.) Scott A. Ostrow retired from the Air Force in September 2005 and has been teaching

Must Read: The Truth About The ASVAB Test Prep From The Man Who Wrote The Book

Kim Lengling

Kim Lengling is a Air Force Veteran whose passion is to help support veterans and their

The Moving Wall: Women Who Paid The Ultimate Price For Their Country

Dr. Sasha Toperich

Dr. Sasha Toperich is the Senior Executive Vice President at Transatlantic Leadership

Sarraj’s Dangerous Dance With Power

Rick Stewart

Rick Stewart is a former United States Air Force Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE)

Announcing American Patriots Unsung Magazine

Nathan B. Nelson

Capt (ret) Nathan B. Nelson is the Director of Military Affairs for the 1st Congressional district

Three Critical Considerations for Every Veteran Prior to Leaving Active Duty

Laquan Daniels

Laquan Daniel is a military recruiting expert with over 17 years of specialized experience in the

Important News For Military Transitioning Veterans

Veteran Buzz

Hire Military Veterans

Which Companies Are Most Likely to Hire Military Veterans?

July 30, 2018 By Ben Ehinger

High-Paying Jobs for Military Veterans

5 High-Paying Jobs for Military Veterans

July 2, 2018 By Ben Ehinger

High Paying Jobs Not Requiring a Degree

June 28, 2018 By Ben Ehinger

Footer

  • Advertise With Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Write For US
  • Link to Us

Recent

  • School Plays an Important Role for the Children of US Military Families
  • “I Was 12 Years Old When My Brother Mike Was Killed in Viet Nam.”
  • Military Retirement Requires Long Range Planning For Best Success
  • The Unraveled Pandemic Of Navy SEAL Posers
  • Apache Attack Helicopter Pilot: To Maintain a Watchful Eye, “Above the Best”

Search

© Copyright 2021 USMillitary
Web Design by Goebel Media Group


THIS IS A PRIVATE WEBSITE THAT IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, U.S. ARMED FORCES, OR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE NOT REVIEWED THIS INFORMATION. THIS SITE IS NOT CONNECTED WITH ANY GOVERNMENT AGENCY.

​Tips
Discounts
News

​

​

Join the USMilitary.com Newsletter Today!

By subscribing you agree to our terms & conditions

x