Letterkenny Munitions Center supports U.S. Army training rocket requirements

Photo By Natasia Kenosky | Letterkenny Munitions Center employee, John Reed, joins an LCRRPR assembly.  

CHAMBERSBURG, PA, UNITED STATES

02.13.2017

Story by Natasia Kenosky 

Letterkenny Munitions Center

Chambersburg, Pa. – In January 2017, the Precision Fires Rocket and Missile Systems Project Office, Huntsville, Alabama visited Letterkenny Munitions Center for a production line validation of the Low Cost Reduced Range Practice Rocket.

Letterkenny Munitions Center produces LCRRPR to assist the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps with annual training requirements. In order to safely and efficiently fulfill practice munitions mission requirements, the LCRRPR team downloads excess Multiple Launch Rocket Systems by disassembling the pod, removing the rocket and reusing certain components.

Next, the rocket motor and warhead are separated during a demating process. LEMC performs inspection and certification of the rocket motors, including leak testing and radiographic inspection, which certifies a rocket for an additional ten years of shelf life. LEMC also refurbishes the pods while the rockets are being disassembled.

“Rocket motors that were otherwise going to be destroyed can now be repurposed into vital training assets for the warfighter,” said John Kimball, Senior Program Manager, National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining.

NCDMM, a LEMC partner, provides manufacturing process development, analysis and optimization. NCDMM created machinery specifications, oversaw the procurement and validation of the LCRRPR process. Another partner, Mission Critical Solutions, LLC, Alum Bank, Pennsylvania, produces the inert warheads for the LCRRPR and delivers them to LEMC.

LEMC integrates the inert warheads with LEMC’s certified rocket motors during build-up operations to produce LCRRPRs. This process produced a significant cost savings for the Army and Marine Corps.

“A new practice rocket is uploaded into a pod, which subsequently is rewired for ignition with new ignitors. Following final testing, the completed pod is ready for delivery,” said Kimball. LEMC plans to integrate reworked ignitors, supplied by Crane Army Ammunition Activity, into the process. Eliminating the need for new ignitors will generate a significant additional cost savings. A flight test is scheduled for June 2017, which will certify CAAA’s reworked ignitors as an approved production component.

PFRMS observed and validated the LCRPPR build-up operations and MLRS download/demate operations. The validation was successful with no major findings.

LEMC is located on Letterkenny Army Depot and is a Government-Owned, Government-Operated installation. LEMC conducts regional and global distribution of munitions, provides missile maintenance, and conducts demilitarization of munitions for the U.S. Army in support of Joint Forces and international partner nations.

• Date Taken: 02.13.2017
• Date Posted: 02.13.2017 15:38
• Story ID: 223433
• Location: CHAMBERSBURG, PA, US