Lightweight Weapon Family JSSAPARDEC Technology Program

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Lightweight Machine Gun and Ammunition The
Clean Slate Approach
NDIA Joint Service Small Arms Symposium May 2004
Kori Spiegel Joint Service Small Arms
Program [phone] kspiegel_at_pica.army.mil
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Lightweight Machine Gun and AmmunitionGoals

• Goals
• A Clean Slate Design with Reduced Weight as the
  Priority
• 35 Weapon Weight Reduction
• 40 Ammo Weight Reduction

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Lightweight Machine Gun and AmmunitionThe Method

• Investigated State of the Art Technologies
• Awarded 5 Component Contracts ATK, Frontier,
  FNMI, Knox Veritay
• Researched previous and ongoing efforts
• Restarted caseless ammunition line at Picatinny
• Conducted Quality Function Deployments
• Serves as Voice of the User
• Held QFDs for User, Designer and a combined
  group
• Results led to criteria for solicitation
• Awarded System Integration Contracts
• Contracts awarded to AAI Corporation and GD-ATP
• Multi phase program to analyze, build and test
  concepts
• Conduct integration testing and User demo
• Testing will encompass all Milestone B
  requirements and FFW Demo
• Completed at end of FY07
• Transition to PM Soldier Weapons

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Lightweight Machine Gun and AmmunitionSchedule
FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06
FY07
Component Studies
Component Demos
Caseless Ammo Study
Caseless Ammo Demo
System Concept Design (Phase 1)
Ltwt Machine Gun Development (Phase 2)
Subsystem Testing
System Integration Testing (Phase 3)
Early Operational Test
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Lightweight Machine Gun and AmmunitionAAI Team
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Lightweight Machine Gun and AmmunitionAAI Key
Features

• Achieves weight reduction objective
• Ammunition
• Weapon
• Simplified weapon action
• Extensive use of composites
• Spiral development approach

Light Machine Gun
Medium Machine Gun
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Lightweight Machine Gun and AmmunitionGD-ATP
Team

• Lead System Integrator
• Lethality lead for system level performance
• Established system requirements and functional
  analysis and allocations with flow down to
  subsystem IPTs
• Responsible for risk management, effectiveness
  analysis, configuration management, interface and
  data management
• Lead on Technical Performance (TPM) tracking
  (DTUPC and DTUW)

• Lead Design and Integrator for Ammunition Design
  and Development
• Design lead on ammunition
• Lead on ammo TPM tracking (DTIPC and DTUW)
• Reliability and maintainability lead for ammo

• Key member for Weapon Design and Development
  IPT
• Co-design selected weapon concept
• Assist GDATP weapon TPM tracking (DTUPC and DTUW)

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Lightweight Machine Gun and AmmunitionGD-ATP
Concept

• Meets or exceeds weight reduction objectives
• Emphasis on PROCESS to achieve PRODUCT
• Flexible weapon and ammunition design

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Caseless Ammunition Capability Demonstration

• Patricia M. OReilly
• Chief, Energetic and Organic Materials Laboratory
  Branch
• Energetics and Warheads Division
• Energetics, Warheads, and Environmental
  Technology Directorate
• Armaments Engineering and Technology Center
• US Army Armament Research Development Engineering
  Center
• NDIA Small Arms Symposium Exhibition
• May 12, 2004
• Las Vegas, Nevada

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Caseless Ammunition Capability Demonstration

• Objective
• To develop and demonstrate an in-house capability
  and core competency to manufacture Caseless
  Ammunition prototypes in support of the
  Lightweight Machine Gun and Ammunition Science
  Technology Objective
• Deliver Caseless Ammunition for a
  live-fire/ballistic demonstration
• Establish ARDEC with a World Class Caseless
  Ammunition Capability

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Caseless Ammunition Capability Demonstration

• Why Caseless Ammunition?
• Lightweight
• Force Multiplier
• Decreased Logistics Burden
• High Ignition Temperature Propellant (HITP)
  provides improved propellant characteristics
  energetic behavior
• High level interest
• Push the State of the Art A Technology that
  fits the clean slate approach

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Caseless Ammunition Capability Demonstration

• Background
• Previous work performed under Advanced Combat
  Rifle (ACR) Program nearly 15 years ago
• Technology Development funded by US (ARDEC) and
  Germany to Heckler Koch (HK)/Dynamit Nobel
  (DNAG)
• Successful Demonstration of Caseless Ammunition
  Rifle System
• Technology Licensed Transferred to the US at
  ARDEC

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Caseless Ammunition Capability Demonstration

• Why ARDEC In-house Effort?
• Original Caseless Ammunition prototype
  manufacturing capability exists/retained
• Risk of Technology being lost - Loss of expertise
  
• Develop and maintain expertise/competency area
• Provides new hires hands-on experience
• Development of cutting edge technology

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Caseless Ammunition Capability Demonstration

• Technical Approach
• Determine Feasibility
• Identify and address technical challenges/potentia
  l risk areas
• Near term long term
• Material needs and source suppliers -
  availability
• Assess equipment condition
• Costs
• Determined viability Organizational
  Commitment
• Re-establish capability and prototyping process
  utilizing existing technology
• Validation of In-house Caseless Ammunition
  capability for 5.56mm

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Caseless Ammunition Capability Demonstration

• Status of Progress
• Accomplishments
• Materials, supplies and services obtained
• Maintenance and service equipment test and
  manufacturing
• SOPs and Manufacturing Process procedures
• Baseline Formulation Selected
• First HITP mix manufactured
• Pressing Study completed

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Caseless Ammunition Capability Demonstration
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Caseless Ammunition Capability Demonstration

• Status of Progress
• Next Steps
• Select initial charge weights
• Manufacture initial quantity of prototypes
• Charge Weight Determination (Ballistic
  Evaluation)
• Evaluate results and select next charge weight(s)
• Characterization
• Implementation of any processing improvements
• Interior Ballistic Modeling
• Manufacture second HITP mix and qty of prototypes
• Charge weight(s) verification (Ballistic
  Evaluation)
• Evaluate results and determine optimal charge
  weight
• Manufacture HITP for Demonstration Quantity
• Small qty of prototypes for charge wt and
  ballistic performance validation
• Manufacture demonstration qty
• Deliver Demonstration quantity - June 04

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Caseless Ammunition Capability Demonstration

• Technical Challenges
• Long term availability and identification of
  source suppliers
• Material replacements
• Environmentally friendly alternatives/
  manufacturing processes for constituents
• Summary
• Validation of the in-house capability proceeding
• Efforts focused to bring Caseless Ammunition
  Capability/Technology to a sufficient maturation
  level
• Acknowledgements
• JSAAP Office
• PPP
• Entire Caseless Ammunition IPT

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Lightweight Machine Gun and AmmunitionSummary

• By using Clean Slate, program goals are
  feasible
• Program progressing successfully
• Close partnering between Government Industry
• Comments/Questions?