RTC works to remove Lance missiles in ANMC storage

By Mrs. Jennifer Bacchus (AMC)January 26, 2017

RTC works to remove Lance missiles in ANMC storage
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. -- Employees and contract employees working with the Redstone Test Center are currently demilitarizing more than 40 Lance rocket motors in the care of Anniston Munitions Center.

The Lance missile system, which was developed in the 1970s, has been determined to be obsolete, so ANMC has worked with the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command since 2014 to determine a demilitarization process.

"We want to remove these Lances from the inventory," said Jeff Wright, chief engineer for AMCOM's Missile Demilitarization Office. "From an age standpoint, they are some of the oldest in the inventory and we are looking forward to being rid of them and declaring victory."

A team consisting of ANMC; Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center; Redstone Test Center; and AMCOM determined the best method was to de-tank the liquid propulsion system within each missile after removing the explosives components installed on each Lance motor.

According to Jason Bell, a test engineer with the Redstone Test Center, the liquid propulsion design of the Lance missile gave the military more control with the munition, but also created issues with storage and disposal.

"Because of the environmental and health hazards associated with the liquid propellants, the demilitarization process is unique," he said.

Care is taken with the aging systems from the moment they are removed from storage. ANMC employees don protective gear and test the air in the igloo to determine if any leaks have occurred before the motors are moved to the demilitarization site.

There, each of the two parts of the propellant system must be removed individually.

After the motor has been removed from the missile, employees with Engineering Research and Consulting, Inc., a defense contractor working with the RTC, remove the Inhibited Red, Fuming Nitric Acid, the oxidizing chemical in the propulsion system.

The fuel, unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine, is removed the next day, after the IRFNA has been removed from the area and the part of the missile containing the oxidizer cleaned.

Because of the health hazards associated with the chemicals involved, ERC employees must don full protective gear with supplied breathable air when performing the demilitarization processes.

"It usually takes three hours in a suit to complete each part of the demilitarization process," said Bell.

ERC employees are typically able to complete more than two missiles each week. The six-man team began the process of demilitarizing ANMC stockpile of more than 40 Lance missiles in October 2016 and are expected to complete demilitarization this Spring.

"This team had done a tremendous job working in a cumbersome and dangerous environment to rid the DOD of these obsolete Lance motors," said Lt. Col. Craig McIlwain, commander of ANMC. "The coordinated effort to properly and safely dispose of these aging Lance motors has been exceptional across the board."

The removed liquid propellants are captured in drums specifically engineered to hold those types of chemicals and are then properly disposed of at a designated facility.