ADMC, Amtec have developed a 'chemistry' in missile recycling

ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala.--An award-winning, one-of-its-kind tactical missile demilitarization and recycling program here has fostered a thriving partnership between the Army and Huntsville, Ala.-based Amtec Corporation.

Anniston Defense Munitions Center\'s Missile Recycling Center dismantles obsolete TOW-tube-launched, optically tracked, and wire-guided-missiles that were first manufactured in the early 1970s.

ADMC, a tenant at the depot, is comprised of 125 Army civilians responsible for the receipt, storage, shipment, maintenance, inspection, demilitarization and recycling of ammunition and missiles in support of the joint warfighter.

Prior to the 2003 startup of the recycling center, obsolete missiles were destroyed in an open burn/open detonation, or OB/OD, operation where the missiles were buried in the ground and then remotely detonated.

At the 34,000-square-foot MRC, about 20 ADMC employees and three Amtec employees jointly disassemble and then remotely process the energetic components of the missiles. Three other Amtec personnel work onsite at ANAD to collaborate with ADMC production planners in carrying out the MRC program objectives.

ADMC and Amtec workers have processed more than 60,000 missiles to date through the MRC program. About 98 percent of all TOW missile components are recycled or reused, according to Patricia Page, chief of ADMC's production management division.

A total of 5,085 TOW missiles were processed at the MRC facility during the initial low-rate production schedule in fiscal year 2003. The next year, 9,640 TOW missiles were processed under a limited production effort.

Researchers anticipated that ADMC would eventually have the resources and experience to process up to 15,000 TOW missiles a year, and it did. It processed 15,700 in 2005. However, a decrease in processing was seen in 2007 when the amount of obsolete TOW missiles lessened, yielding an average of 10,000 to be processed annually.

"Currently, there aren't enough missiles at the end of their shelf life to process 15,000 a year," said Page.

The MRC is the brainchild of Army scientists at Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., who collaborated with Amtec and the Army's Aviation and Missile Command in the research, development and testing of missile component recycling. It's the only recycling center of its kind in the Army.

The 5-year ADMC-Amtec partnership can be attributed to the relationship both entities have with the Army's AMRDEC. It wasn't until 2007, however, that ADMC and Amtec signed a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, to formally define their roles in the success and future of their MRC mission.

The partners continue to look across the family of tactical missiles for other sustainment initiatives that could be supported by personnel at ADMC, said Tom Chandler, director of ordnance operations for Amtec.

Partnering leverages the capabilities and experiences of all parties involved, and this joint venture is no exception. Amtec, a 20-year provider of solutions and services in the area of engineering design, equipment fabrication, operations support and business planning, partnered with AMRDEC and AMCOM to build the prototype recycling equipment.

ADMC's missile maintenance and modification program support legacy with its transportation, storage, safety and security capabilities led to the decision for ADMC to manage and operate the TOW MRC facility.

"Amtec, familiar with ADMC's tactical missile life cycle support experience and capabilities, worked closely with ADMC in support of the AMCOM and AMRDEC MRC initiative to build the recycling center at Anniston," said Chandler.

The resource recovery and reuse of tactical missile components demands a broad skill set for success, said Chandler. Amtec, he said, "is very responsive in providing the necessary skills to support government missile programs, particularly in the areas of explosive chemistry and mechanical explosive design."

This 'chemistry' between ADMC and Amtec also helps the Army's sustainability initiative by preventing pollution, shrinking the overall environmental footprint made by the OB/OD method, and saving money.

The recycling mission has saved taxpayers and private industry stakeholders millions of dollars, as the MRC process generates the sale of reused components to avoid the costs of new tooling by the manufacturers.

"Missile recycling reduces the cost associated with environmental cleanup and provides, to the maximum extent possible, recovered components that can be used in the production of new missiles and to generate spare parts for sustaining the missile system late in this shelf life," said Tony Burdell, commander's representative at ADMC.

The Missile Recycling Center has received several awards from the Army and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

Anniston Defense Munitions Center is a subsidiary organization of the Army's Joint Munitions Command at Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois. JMC is a subordinate command of Army Materiel Command.