Picatinny Arsenal recently answered the call to assist an Air Force service member in acquiring special parts to improve the readiness posture of a fleet of helicopters at an Air Force base in Wyoming.
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. John Springer, UH-1N Contracting Officers Representative, 582nd Helicopter Group, F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming, contacted Picatinny Arsenal stating he’d been facing challenges in procuring and acquiring a UH-1N helicopter M240 Forward Rail System.
“We provide intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) support and security from the UH-1N Huey helicopter,” Springer said. “Our laser optic that’s mounted to the M-240D was mounted on the top feed tray by use of a picatinny rail; however, with repeated mobility we were running into several breaks as well as dropped object occurrences. As this is the only approved-for-flight kit currently with the Air Force, the time and money going into research to get a flight waiver would have proven a long term project when we needed a fix fast.”
Springer reached out for help by submitting a request to the Fusion Cell through the Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armament’s Center’s Public Facing Website. Picatinny Arsenal was the one place from which he was able to receive approved flight kits.
William Hardy, Chief of Operations for the Fusion Cell, connected with Picatinny engineers as well as members of Project Manager Soldier Lethality to acquire 18 M240 Forward Rail kits to send to the requester.
“In the midst of a pandemic, our organization is still providing both proactive and near term solutions for our warfighters,” said Hardy.
The kits were provided by Thomas Walsh from Project Manager Soldier Lethality and shipped by the DEVCOM Armaments Center Crew Served Weapons Branch.
“Transferring the kits and shipping involved several members of each group because of the telework situation due to the pandemic,” said Michael Narus, Mechanical Engineer and Acting M240 APO with the Crew Served Weapons Branch. “Tom Walsh had excess kits at Picatinny, so we just had to get them and ship them. I was happy to see the excess parts were being put to good use.”
Once received, there was a trial fit for one of the weapons systems for testing, and there were subsequent modifications done for the remaining weapons.
“This kit has proven itself to be more reliable and is ready to go at a moment’s notice due to not having to configure our weapons systems for varying mission requirements,” Springer said.
Springer said he and the squadron commanders were grateful for Picatinny’s quick response.
“The help and support, to include a timely response and shipping, from Picatinny Arsenal is unparalleled, and we cannot thank them enough for all of their support,” he said.
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