Photo By Amanda Ramsaran | At APG’s M‑Range, Cadets Put Tripod Innovation to the Test... read more read more
Subscribe
AseniorcapstoneteamfromtheU.S.MilitaryAcademyatWestPointistacklingapracticalchallengefortheArmy:ensuringnewmachinegunscanbemountedonlegacytripods.Thecadets,fromtheMechanicalandAerospaceEngineeringDepartmentandsupportedbytheCenterforAppliedEngineering,havedevelopedacost-effectiveprototypeadapterthatallowstheArmy’solderM192tripodtosupporttheM240,M249,andM250seriesmachineguns. WorkingunderthedirectionofMaj.MatthewCrockerandCapt.TravisChewning‑Kulick,thestudentteam—CadetsZhu,Winters,Gilmore(notpresent),andStewart—designed,tested,andrefinedtheadapter.Theirsolutionincorporatesmodernfeatures,includingtheM-LOKmountingsystemandanadjustableammunitionpouchmountingpoint.Itaddressesapracticallogisticsissue,preservingcompatibilitywithexistingequipmentwhileintegratingnext-generationweaponsystems.Theadapter,craftedfrom4140steelandweighingapproximatelyonepound,wasproducedusingbothmanualandCNCmanufacturingtechniques.Thecadetshavedesigned,fabricated,andtestedtheirprototypes.
ThecadetsevaluatedthetripodmodificationattheU.S.ArmyTransformationDecisionAnalysisCenter’s(TDAC)M-RangeatAberdeenProvingGround(APG),Maryland.Thisoutdoorfacilitysupportsresearchonweapondesigninteractionwithhumanperformance.Duringtheevaluation,whichincludedfiringatdistancesof300and600meters,theteamusedastraingaugesystemconnectedtoacomputertomeasureforceanddeformationonthetripodadapter.Capturingstraindataverifiesthedesigncanwithstandthestressesofbattlefieldconditions.Futureevaluationswillincludecorrosiontesting.ThisworkwasconductedincoordinationwithAPGtenantorganizations,includingTDACandATEC.
Establishedin1917,APGistheArmy’soldestactiveprovinggroundandservesasamajorhubforweaponstesting,materielevaluation,andscientificdevelopment.Thecadets’projectcontinuesalonghistoryofcollaborationbetweenWestPointandtheArmy’stopresearchcenters.ManycapstoneprojectsaresponsoredbyorganizationsatAPG,includingtheArmyResearchLab,offeringcadetsinvaluableexposuretoprofessionalengineeringandtheArmy’smodernizationpriorities. ThisprojectnotonlyprovidesapracticalsolutionforSoldiers’equipmentbutalsoexemplifiesthepartnershipbetweenacademiaandthearmedforcesindrivinginnovationandmaintainingmilitaryreadiness.
| Date Taken: | 03.19.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 04.08.2026 13:11 |
| Story ID: | 560943 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 6 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, At APG’s M‑Range, Cadets Put Tripod Innovation to the Test, by Amanda Ramsaran, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
