Forging innovation today: for the future force tomorrow

To celebrate the Army’s 250th birthday this year, we are looking back at how Aberdeen Proving Ground has played a major role in shaping Army technology since its establishment in 1917. APG is the Army’s oldest active proving ground and, despite its age, is known as “the home of innovation.” APG plays a vital role in Army modernization efforts by developing cutting-edge technologies to support the warfighter. With APG’s extensive efforts, America’s service members are ready, modern, and prepared to defeat and destroy those who threaten our homeland, our partners and allies, and our American way of life.

APG founded out of necessity during WWI

APG was founded six months after the U.S. entered World War I. The Army needed a new site for testing artillery and weapons when Sandy Hook Proving Ground, New Jersey was deemed too small and located in an area too densely populated to support wartime operations.

Col. Colden Ruggles was tasked with finding a location for a new proving ground, and after weighing several options, selected Harford County, Maryland, because it provided the land and the isolation the Army required.

On Oct. 14, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson formally established the new proving ground at Aberdeen. On Jan. 1, 1918, Ruggles became the first commanding officer of the installation.

Richard Wiltison, command historian of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, explained that in the early days, a “whole array” of testing took place, which made APG a unique installation. According to Wiltison, World War I was considered the first truly mechanized war, with the introduction of wheeled vehicles, tanks, airplanes, and lethal gasses.

Aberdeen chronograph is the predecessor of today’s radar gun technology

APG’s testing program led to the invention of the Aberdeen chronograph in 1918 by Alfred Lee Loomis. This invention was the first portable instrument for measuring ordnance muzzle velocity and striking power.

Prior to the Aberdeen chronograph, the Boulengé chronograph was used to measure velocity at APG. Wiltison said the older chronograph was so large it would take up an entire room. The size and the mobility of the Aberdeen chronograph made measuring the speed of larger artillery shells easier.

“They [APG personnel] made something that was smaller, could fit on a single table, and more importantly, it could be portable,” Wiltison said.

According to an article in the March 3, 1966, edition of APG News, “Operated remotely from the actual weapon being fired, the [Aberdeen] chronograph measures the time it takes for the projectile to pass between two screens which are placed at a known distance apart in front of a weapon.”

Wiltison said the Aberdeen chronograph is the predecessor of modern radar gun technology that is used by law enforcement to measure the speed of vehicles and to determine the speed of pitches during a baseball or softball game.

According to a book published by the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s History Office in 2011, “History of Aberdeen Proving Ground,” Edgewood Arsenal played a critical role in a secret raid, ultimately altering World War II in the Pacific Theater.

Incendiary bombs used in pivotal World War II raid

In early 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to boost U.S. morale and show the Japanese they were vulnerable to attack. After receiving an order from the Air Staff of the Chemical Warfare Service, the arsenal’s higher headquarters, an Edgewood Arsenal plant produced 50 500-pound clusters of incendiary bombs, which were then shipped to Benicia Arsenal in San Francisco.

Under the command of Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle, on April 18, 1942, 16 B-25s launched off the deck of the USS Hornet, a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. Each bomber carried a total of 2,000 pounds of incendiary and high-explosive bombs. The 16 bombers completed their bombing missions without a loss. This secret mission would later be known as the Doolittle, or Tokyo, Raid.

The “History of Aberdeen Proving Ground,” describes the success of the Doolittle Raid.

“An after-action conference between newly promoted Brig. Gen. Doolittle and the chief of the CWS Incendiaries Branch on May 20, 1942, revealed that the incendiaries manufactured at Edgewood Arsenal ‘worked perfectly’ setting fire to oil tanks, warehouses and factories. It was a historic first use of incendiaries being dropped from U.S. planes.”

APG at the forefront of military vehicle testing

Since its early days, APG has specialized in testing tracked and wheeled vehicles in all types of terrain. Experimental vehicle testing can be traced back to 1919.

APG test history includes many well-known vehicles such as the Jeep in the 1940s, the M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank in the 1980s, and the Military High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, also known as a Humvee, in the 2000s.

Through its vehicle test program, APG participated in the mid-century space race. In 1966, NASA partnered with the Development and Proof Services at APG to create a mock moon surface for conducting “hard service” tests on two prototypes of the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle. The final design was a battery-powered four-wheel vehicle, also known as a “moon buggy,” used on the Moon in the last three Apollo missions, 15, 16, and 17 in 1971 and 1972.

Today, APG continues to adapt and create the test environments necessary to support evaluations for the latest technological advancements. The U.S Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Army Research Laboratory established the ARL Robotics Research Collaborative Campus on 200 acres of land belonging to APG.

R2C2 supports multi-domain operations and provides a test bed dedicated to autonomy, artificial intelligence, and robotics research. The site is accessible to extended research communities and enables teams to test functionality and collect sensory data in operationally relevant field conditions. This natural environment enhances capability development by addressing some of the challenges associated with simulation-based testing.

The U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center recently announced its new capability, Accelerated Vehicle Durability Testing.

The AVDT will accelerate delivery of next generation systems to our warfighters while reducing test timelines, funding, and risks. The hardware-in-the-loop simulators will expedite the acquisition process by providing the necessary data for leadership decisions.

APG’s legacy of test capability innovation to support cutting-edge vehicle technology development endures. From multi-Soldier-multi-robot teaming software development to the integration of sensors and AI, APG leads the way into the future of battlefield innovations.

Edgewood Arsenal founded to respond to chemical warfare

Throughout its history, APG has fought hard to protect Soldiers from numerous and continually evolving threats. As technological advances introduce new battlefield hazards, chemical warfare is an enduring threat that can be traced back to the very beginning of APG.

Addressing large-scale chemical warfare became an urgent requirement during World War I, and President Woodrow Wilson approved the site that would become Edgewood Arsenal in response. Civilian construction workers labored through one of the harshest winters on record to rapidly build the laboratory and production facilities urgently needed to support the war.

As World War I ended, Edgewood became the focal point of chemical warfare and defensive equipment development.

Wiltison said Edgewood Arsenal personnel were involved with the production and development of the Model 1919/M1 Mask, the first American-made military gas mask. According to Wiltison, the mask design was innovative, as it replaced the nose clip and mouthpiece with a flapper system that shuts off when the user inhales. This modification made wearing the gas mask more comfortable over long periods of time. “To me that is one of the greatest technological changes to come out of World War I,” Wiltison said. The gas mask factory established during World War I assembled most of the Army’s gas masks through WWII, including the ones carried by Soldiers as they landed in France on D-Day.

In the years following the conclusion of World War II, Edgewood became the research hub for additional evolving threats and research requirements including nuclear warfare, nerve agents, wound ballistics, and preventative medicine. In 1967, the Wound Ballistic Laboratory analyzed Lee Harvey Oswald’s rifle associated with the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Technological innovations were produced in areas including protective equipment, detection systems, various weapons, and body armor.

Chemical warfare protection research and development remains a critical mission on the installation with multiple organizations continuing the work. Rapid cyanide poisoning treatment to improve chances of survival has been a long-sought after goal. Countermeasure research can be traced back to Edgewood during WWII as research began to protect civilians and Soldiers.

Dr. Gary Rockwood started with U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense in 1990 and has focused most of his research on finding a cyanide antidote. While two FDA-approved intravenous treatments have been available for more than a decade, Rockwood’s research team at MRICD has continued efforts to find an intramuscular solution that would be efficacious, faster, and more efficient to administer.

Through years of research and collaboration with various partners, including National Institutes of Health and U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, a promising intramuscular treatment was developed using a substance found in common foods such as onions and broccoli. Dimethyl trisulfide, or DMTS, is an organic chemical compound that has shown potential as an effective cyanide antidote. DMTS as an intramuscular treatment is currently in the pre-clinical phase, and MRICD is working with industry partners to take the antidote to the next levels of approval.

APG is also advancing technology in chemical detection and integration with autonomous capabilities. The U.S. Army DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center is leveraging some of their previous innovations and continuing to develop enhancements with new technology.

Building on their 2018 efforts to integrate biological sensors on unmanned aerial vehicles, DEVCOM CBC is now enhancing their capabilities even further by adding artificial intelligence/machine learning technologies to the systems. Their innovative solutions provide Soldiers with tools that enable faster decision-making while reducing hazardous exposure, ensuring battlefield overmatch and enhancing Army lethality.

From early research to production and training, Edgewood has a long history as a critical contributor to our Army’s success.

Demilitarization experts neutralize Syrian chemical weapon

In 2014, a team of APG Army subject matter experts made international news by successfully neutralizing Syrian chemical weapon components on board the MV Cape Ray container ship.

Volunteers with backgrounds in chemistry, chemical engineering, and related fields from APG’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, Joint Program Manager for Elimination, and the Chemical Materials Activity, destroyed more than 600 tons of Syria’s declared chemical weapon stockpile in accordance with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons guidelines while operating in international waters. The operation lasted more than seven months.

An article published in the Sept. 11, 2014, edition of APG News, written by reporter Yvonne Johnson, describes the mission as “historic” and it “made the world safer.”

“APG scientists designed the field deployable hydrolysis system and modified it for use at sea to neutralize the chemical materials,” Johnson said. “The hydrolysis system mixed the chemicals with water and sodium hypochlorite bleach, producing a low-level waste that after treatment to reduce acidity was stored in containers on the ship until they could be delivered to waste-treatment facilities. According to government reports, the Syrian chemical cargo consisted of methylphosphonyl difluoride, the main precursor to Sarin and other nerve agents, and 20 tons of mustard, a blister agent.”

The APG team used lessons learned from neutralizing its mustard agent stockpile, completed on March 11, 2005, at the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, which was located on APG South (Edgewood). APG was the first of eight U.S. Army stockpile sites in the continental U.S. to empty its stockpile area, eliminating the risk the stored agent posed to its surrounding community for the past six decades.

A true Army legacy

APG’s impact on the Army and world history cannot be overstated. Every organization that has called APG home since its establishment shares an unshakeable commitment to defending our nation. Whether it’s rapid development of a capability to counteract a new enemy threat or providing support to America’s “space race,” APG always delivers exactly what our warfighters and our nation need, and more.

Soldiers, civilians, scientists, test technicians, engineers, logisticians, and contract professionals are just a few of the experts brought together on this installation to collaborate and produce such impactful innovations, making APG a unique and critical asset to the Army and the nation’s defense.

The organizations on APG are involved in every aspect of the life cycle – from concept to divestiture. Our experts develop ideas into tangible solutions based on battlefield needs. They test equipment to ensure usability, reliability, and warfighter protection. They coordinate mass distribution by securing funding, creating and executing training, and providing maintenance and field support throughout the life of the system. When the time comes, they assist in the process to properly close down the program as the Army’s capabilities continuously transform.

APG’s dedication throughout the decades to Soldier protection and lethality has driven the relentless efforts to modernize and transform through innovation that will lead us into the future.