SUPPORTING THE FUTURE FORCE


team enabled the services to craft a joint road map that yielded immediate benefits by creating a common understanding of tech- nologies available in industry.


FOCUS AREAS Te Joint Lightweight Ammunition Integrated Product Team meets twice a year, hosted by one of the core members, but remains continuously engaged to coordinate efforts. Te focus of the biannual team meeting is to review ongoing efforts, look at test results and establish focus areas for upcoming activities.


During initial meetings, the services outlined the status of each of the ongoing and future programs and planned a joint road map, an overall approach to coordinating lightweight ammuni- tion programs. Based on the working partners’ priorities, initial efforts fell into the following focus areas:


• Army—7.62 mm. • Marine Corps—.50 caliber. • British Ministry of Defense—5.56 mm.


Additionally, SOCOM continued to explore commercially available solutions that fit niche capabilities, thus increasing the knowledge base across the integrated product team. Tis has allowed each partner to successfully leverage emerging data from multiple industry solutions in various calibers to minimize the workload and maximize resources.


Under the integrated product team, the joint services assessed lightweight case solutions from seven potential sources, includ- ing traditional defense contractors as well as small businesses, which are considered nontraditional sources. Te assessments looked strictly at requirements to demonstrate reliable function in legacy weapon systems while maintaining military-specified performance, which is more stringent than commercial standards. Primary challenges made apparent in testing include the ability to function reliably across extreme temperatures, the ability to maintain pressure and muzzle velocity, and the ability for the cases to properly eject from the weapon.


Tese robust performance requirements are balanced with the expected cost of manufacturing and any current capacity limi- tations on vendors for future manufacturing requirements. By coordinating within the Joint Lightweight Ammunition Inte- grated Product Team, the services can leverage results from multiple test events, which eliminates redundant testing and allows for a broad assessment across industry.


BRASS


STAINLESS STEEL


POLYMER


LOOKING TO THE FUTURE


JPEO A&A has been evaluating concepts for new 7.62 mm ammunition casings for their weight and operational performance compared with traditional brass ammunition, top. The concepts include composite casings, bottom, with a stainless steel base and a polymer body, and stainless steel casings, center. (Photos by JPEO A&A)


https://asc.ar my.mil


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