CALIBRATING COLLABORATION WITH INDUSTRY
square feet, while maintaining sufficient capacity to meet gov- ernment requirements. Te effort led to a $1.5 million reduction in annual operating costs and decontaminated unneeded facili- ties for return to other uses. Product Manager LC is continuing to work with Aerojet and Orbital ATK to ensure that produc- tion continues with minimal gaps to maintain the capabilities essential to national defense.
Combustible cartridge cases are also a unique application for ammunition. Te cases are important since they reduce volume of expended material after firing, and space is at a high pre- mium inside a tank. A case that burns completely in under the tenth of a second it takes to fire a tank round is similar to card- board, yet it must support projectiles weighing over 40 pounds, in some cases.
Balancing these requirements is a niche skill that Esterline Defense Technologies has performed well for several decades. However, the Army currently requires a fraction of the tank rounds it did 10 or 20 years ago. Tat has put a strain on Ester- line to maintain this needed capability at economical rates. To help sustainment, Product Manager LC worked with Ester- line and product offices under the project manager for combat ammunition systems, which rely on related products, to ensure that sufficient business exists. Product Manager LC also works with HQDA G-4 and G-8 to plan future year procurement to avoid large swings in quantities from year to year, which would make it difficult for Esterline to continue efficient operation.
Despite the drastically reduced quantities in tank ammunition requirements, Product Manager LC continues to work with two prime system contractors: Orbital ATK and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems. While either contractor likely has the capacity to produce all of the Army’s requirements in the current environment, maintaining multiple sources offers several benefits. It provides ample surge capacity to the national industrial base, which reduces risk for future contingencies. It also develops secondary sources of supply at component levels, which reduces the overall risks to the product office as a whole. Perhaps most importantly, it sustains competition for develop- ment of new ammunition. Maintaining two prime contractors has facilitated competitive prototyping into the engineering and manufacturing development phase for the last two large-caliber programs of record.
Tis approach, while marginally increasing administrative require- ments for the government, greatly reduces cost and performance risk for development programs. It allows for more innovation going
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SHARING THE BENEFITS LCAAP, with this newly automated 7.62 mm and .50-caliber ammunition can printer, has benefited from a public-private cooperative agreement whereby the government owns the plant and Orbital ATK Inc. operates it and uses the plant to make ammunition for the commercial market. Orbital ATK’s investment in equipment upgrades also supports LCAAP’s continued operation as the Army’s main source for small-caliber ammuni- tion. (Photo by Orbital ATK Inc.)
ENGAGING TARGETS—AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS Pfc. Francisco Rodriguez, an M240B machine gunner with the 24th Infantry Regiment, engages targets at an M4 range at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, in March. Honing the competitive edge across the Army’s diverse ammunition portfolio of products, suppliers and users requires an innovative approach that brings industry in on the ground floor. (Photo by Sgt. Corey Confer, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division Public Affairs)
Army AL&T Magazine
July-September 2016
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