At APG’s M‑Range, Cadets Put Tripod Innovation to the Test

U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command
Story by Amanda Ramsaran

Date: 03.19.2026
Posted: 03.19.2026 14:13
News ID: 560943
At APG’s M‑Range, Cadets Put Tripod Innovation to the Test

SeniorCapstoneTeamTacklesInterfaceChallenge

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.

Live-FireEvaluationatAberdeenProvingGround

ThecadetsevaluatedthetripodmodificationattheU.S.ArmyTransformationDecisionAnalysisCenter’s(TDAC)M-RangeatAberdeenProvingGround(APG),Maryland.Thisoutdoorfacilitysupportsresearchonweapondesigninteractionwithhumanperformance.Duringtheevaluation,whichincludedfiringatdistancesof300and600meters,theteamusedastraingaugesystemconnectedtoacomputertomeasureforceanddeformationonthetripodadapter.Capturingstraindataverifiesthedesigncanwithstandthestressesofbattlefieldconditions.Futureevaluationswillincludecorrosiontesting.ThisworkwasconductedincoordinationwithAPGtenantorganizations,includingTDACandATEC.

Army’sPremierResearchandTestingInstallation

Establishedin1917,APGistheArmy’soldestactiveprovinggroundandservesasamajorhubforweaponstesting,materielevaluation,andscientificdevelopment.Thecadets’projectcontinuesalonghistoryofcollaborationbetweenWestPointandtheArmy’stopresearchcenters.ManycapstoneprojectsaresponsoredbyorganizationsatAPG,includingtheArmyResearchLab,offeringcadetsinvaluableexposuretoprofessionalengineeringandtheArmy’smodernizationpriorities. ThisprojectnotonlyprovidesapracticalsolutionforSoldiers’equipmentbutalsoexemplifiesthepartnershipbetweenacademiaandthearmedforcesindrivinginnovationandmaintainingmilitaryreadiness.