McALESTER, Okla. -- A new load, assemble and pack production line that began first article acceptance testing Sept. 23 is expected to increase surge capacity and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of bomb-loading operations at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, here, Army officials said.
"Before this, A-line was our only cast-cure line and B-line was our melt-pour line," said John Ross, chief of the Ammunition Planning Division, Ammunition Operations Directorate. "Now with B-line after the modernization, it gives us the capability to do melt-pour and cast-cure on a single line."
The new B-line configuration supports a primary asset of the U.S. Air Force -- the BLU-109 C/B 2,000-pound penetrator bomb -- also known as a "bunker buster." It also supports the 2,000-pound BLU-117 B/B general purpose bomb and the 2,000-pound BLU-121 B/B modified penetrator.
MCAAP was unable to produce the new insensitive munition variant of the BLU-109 before the modernization. It first had to construct the process engineering systems required to mitigate employee exposure to hazardous materials in the explosive mix process, said Brian Foris, project manager for B-line modernization and current chief of Business Development.
An insensitive munition will burn rather than explode under conditions other than its intended purpose to destroy a target. This feature makes them safer to store and transport.
Much of the B-line modernization work involved the purchase and installation of new equipment and 90 percent of it was completed in-house by the Directorate of Engineering and Public Works, Ross said.
Improvements were made to the mixing and pouring operations for cast-cure loads, including adding high-shear mixers and processing equipment, and to the cap-off and curing capabilities.
A new monorail was installed, which allows the bombs to remain vertical while curing and eliminates fill height failures which reduces costs. Also, six curing chambers were added to increase capacity.
The project cost $18.3 million -- $10.5 million provided by the Air Force, $7.2 million for the mixers and monorail system was funded through the Army Capital Investment Program, and the balance was paid from MCAAP's Army Working Capital Fund, said Foris.
The work began in October 2012 and was completed with a successful process validation in May.
Aside from ensuring that MCAAP can produce the munitions to help the Air Force meet its war reserve stocks requirement, Ross said the current workload for the new B-line is expected to continue through April 2019.
"B-line is going to be our primary workhorse for loading, assembling and packing bombs now and into the future," he said.
McAlester Army Ammunition Plant is the Department of Defense's premier bomb- and warhead-loading facility. It is one of 14 installations of the Joint Munitions Command and one of 23 organic industrial bases under the U.S. Army Materiel Command, which include arsenals, depots and ammunition plants. MCAAP is vital to ammunition stockpile management and delivery to the Joint Warfighter for training and combat operations.
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