GETTING IN THE TRANCHES
S
ince the start of the conflict in Ukraine, Product Manager Small Caliber Ammunition (PdM SCA), part of Project Manager Maneuver Ammunition Systems (PM MAS) within the Joint Program Executive Office
for Armaments and Ammunition (JPEO A&A), has enabled the flow of significant product to its partners. Trough 37 presiden- tial drawdowns, small caliber ammunition, primarily in 7.62 mm and .50-caliber configurations, has moved from U.S. depots to various foreign access points. Providing this level of support has been a team effort requiring expert competencies across the Army enterprise. Further, the receipt of tranche funds, incremen- tal payments for materiel sent, will be used to bolster our defense capabilities for the future.
A CARTRIDGE FOR EVERY NEED With a portfolio of approximately 44 distinct cartridge types available in roughly 73 different configurations, PdM SCA offers a cartridge for every user, need or situation. Te Ukrainian Armed Forces desired products capable of high rates of fire and armor penetration as the anticipated threat was large formations of troops in various models of unarmored, lightly armored and armored vehicles. With this need in mind, a few products were logical choices, including 7.62 mm cartridges intended for use against personnel and unarmored vehicles, typically fired from both dismounted infantry and vehicle-mounted machine guns. Tey allow the warfighter to lay down suppressive fire to enable troops to maneuver against the enemy. In addition, .50-caliber cartridges can be fired from both dismounted crew-served weap- ons as well as vehicle-mounted machine guns.
Lastly, .50-caliber Saboted Light Armor Penetrator (SLAP) cartridge linked with SLAP Tracers are employed in scenarios where there is a desired increase in armor-defeating capability over the other cartridge. As the name suggests, these cartridges feature a saboted design to propel a dense, tungsten projectile up to a staggering 4,000 feet per second.
MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK Te staff at the Joint Munitions Command (JMC) at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, orchestrates the transfer of this ammunition to Ukraine. Brian Willis, small caliber division chief at JMC, summarized the process, saying, “JMC is supporting the effort by coordinating optimal sourcing of Ukraine’s requirements, whether through on-hand theater stocks or CONUS [continen- tal U.S.] inventory, and then working expeditiously to execute ammunition shipments in alignment with the mode of trans- portation, whether vessel or air.” Willis’ expert team includes logisticians for every caliber of ammunition, who then work in
22 Army AL&T Magazine Summer 2023
WHY A SABOT?
A sabot (pronounced “sah-bow”) design allows a narrow projectile to be fired through a larger diame- ter weapon barrel. Unlike other ammunition products, the projectile sabot is not intended to reach the target. Instead, it serves to support the projectile during firing and separates upon muzzle exit. This design must be employed judiciously because while it increases the kinetic energy delivered on target, it also increases design complexity, opportunities for failure and associated unit price.
tandem with teammates from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center (DEVCOM-AC) and PdM SCA. After providing the needed material, the team receives tranche funds—payments tied to each delivery. Te team balances this funding with known and emergent defense needs and adjusts future orders from the primary manufacturing site: the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant.
BIRTHPLACE OF SMALL CALIBER AMMUNITION Lake City is a sprawling U.S. government-owned, contractor- operated facility in Independence, Missouri. Established during World War II, this site produces most national defense muni- tions ranging from 5.56 mm to 20 mm. Continually modernizing and maintaining a site this size is a constant challenge, but the capability is nothing short of amazing. For military customers, Lake City boasts an average annual production of 600 million cartridges with surge capacity of 1.6 billion cartridges. Depend- ing on defense needs, such as supporting the current conflict in Ukraine, the plant is able to scale up or down accordingly. Te current operating contractor, Olin-Winchester, assumed opera- tions in fiscal year 2021 following a one-year transition period.
In order to ensure U.S. stockpiles remain robust, select tranche funds are being used to advance small caliber ammunition manu- facturing capabilities. Tis includes reestablishing the dormant SLAP/SLAP Tracer production process at Lake City. John Middleton, DEVCOM-AC technical lead, explained, “SLAP and SLAP Tracer were last made in 2013, under a contract with Olin- Winchester, at their commercial facility in East Alton, Illinois. Te USG [U.S. government] is teaming with Olin-Winchester, now operating the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, to stand
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