REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- Megan Shumate is a general engineer for the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center's Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability Engineering and System Assessment Division. She has been with AMRDEC for over nine years.
Shumate manages the U.S. Army Stockpile Reliability Program for the HELLFIRE missile system and provides RAM Engineering support to the Joint Attack Munition Systems Project Office. Through the SRP, she tests and evaluates the HELLFIRE missile system and its components to ensure they are safe and reliable as the system ages.
"We collect data from several types of testing, both destructive and non-destructive, that allow us to identify trends in the performance, reliability, and safety of the HELLFIRE missile system as it ages. This data is essential to provide inventory management recommendations and shelf life extension decisions to the U.S. Army to extend the useful life of our missile inventories."
SRP helps the U.S. Army reach their number one goal of readiness by identifying and removing failing missiles from the tactical inventory before they are issued to the Warfighter. This increases the reliability of the go-to-war stocks, decreases combat risk and increases the safety of the Solider.
"We've also been able to double the shelf life of some Army missiles systems through the SRP. This saves millions of taxpayer dollars by maximizing the useful life of our current missile inventories and decreasing new missile procurement costs, which supports Department of Defense's better buying power initiatives."
Shumate's team, in partnership with the JAMS International Project Office and Security Assistance Management Division, provide similar support to the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and Foreign Military Sales customers through the Joint SRP.
"Being able to travel and support both our U.S. Soldiers and Foreign Military Allies from all over the world has been a remarkable experience. I get to see, firsthand, the impact my job has on the Solider in the field, which makes my job incredibly rewarding. I absolutely love what I do and am so proud to be a part of the AMRDEC family."
Shumate received her Bachelor's Degree in Aerospace Engineering from Auburn University and is currently attending the Naval Postgraduate School to earn her Masters of Science in Program Management.
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The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, which has the mission to provide innovative research, development and engineering to produce capabilities for decisive overmatch to the Army against the complexities of the current and future operating environments in support of the Joint Warfighter and the Nation. RDECOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Material Command.
Related Links:
Army.mil: Science and Technology News
U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command
U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command
U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center
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