by Tyler Barth
PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - In a trusted partner’s greatest time of need, the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center Technology Transfer Office has pulled through to rescue the production of a critical munition component.
Via a Test Service Agreement with the AMTEC Corporation, Armaments Center engineers successfully developed a modernized method of producing pyrophoric iron, a critical component in the Army’s 40mm M918E2 target practice cartridges. These cartridges are essential to warfighter training, routinely used during instruction on MK19 grenade machine guns.
According to Technology Transfer Officer, Office of Deputy Chief of Staff, G9, Sam Joisil, AMTEC, the sole contractor for 40mm grenade training rounds, previously used third-party supplier Alloy Surfaces for producing pyrophoric iron, a material which sparks spontaneously when exposed to air after impact, thus serving as a visual marker for the Soldier. Alloy Surfaces went out of business last year, driving AMTEC to begin replicating the material in-house. The legacy method of production, he noted, was difficult, requiring specialized equipment and resulting in large quantities of toxic waste.
AMTEC reached out to the Armaments Center for assistance in January 2026, and the two organizations formed a collaborative effort to stabilize the supply chain. Using a Test Service Agreement, AMTEC was partnered with Advanced Materials Technology Branch engineer Aaron Stern and his team, who specialize in pyrophoric and oxygen-sensitive components. Armaments Center engineers employed a multitude of characterization techniques, such as thermogravimetric analysis, bomb calorimetry, particle size analysis, and electron microscopy to determine optimal process parameters in order to create a new, sustainable pyrophoric iron production method for AMTEC.
According to Dennis O’Neill, Program Officer for Medium Caliber Ammunition at the Office of the Project Manager for Maneuver Ammunition Systems, AMTEC was ecstatic with the results, and is confident that the data the Armaments Center provided will facilitate a safer, more efficient, and more environmentally conscious production method with more modern equipment. This serves as AMTEC’s first internal chemical production process.
The Armaments Center is confident that this successful partnership will be a blueprint for future Cooperative Research and Development Agreements and Engineering Services Agreements to solve the Department of War's most complex industrial base challenges.