The U.S. Army should begin now to invest in the production of advanced energetics and IM explosive ingredients. Adding these capabilities to the Radford Army Ammunition Plant would spread fixed costs over more lines of business, thereby lowering ammunition costs to all consumers.

With the Radford Army Ammunition Plant management contract about to be re-competed, this is a time to see what the competing companies bring to the table for modernization.

The U.S. Army needs to consider investing in modern industrial technologies to support the development of advanced production capabilities at its critical ammunition plants. The U.S. Navy's approach to management and modernization of the Allegheny Ballistics Laboratory is one the Army should consider emulating.

The Allegheny Ballistics Laboratory produces a variety of products, including some types of ammunition. At ABL, the Navy and ATK have invested $589 million on a renovation and modernization program. As part of this investment, an automatic fiber placement production facility was built that is now being used to produce the composite pivot shaft assembly for the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 fighter. Modernization funds were also applied to the relocation of new production activities such as advanced proximity fuzes to ABL.

ATK has successfully operated ABL for 50 years, and has a long contract (24 years), which allows it to recoup the costs associated with investments in the facility. In addition, ATK pays a lease fee that is a percentage of revenues; these funds are used primarily for facility improvement projects on the installation, including building and equipment renovations. ATK also manages a range of programs associated with the operations of ABL, such as security, with an eye towards reducing costs.

The U.S. Army has a plan to enhance the operation of the Radford Army Ammunition Plant. Some $350 million has been identified and set aside to complete the modernization effort at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant, which is not a lot of money when the future of the entire U.S. ammunition industrial base is on the line.

This investment would ensure the physical modernization of the Radford Army Ammunition Plant's critical infrastructure and provide the basis for bringing additional work to the plant.

However, the U.S. Army has decided to delay spending the Radford modernization funds in anticipation of the re-competing of that facility's basic management contract.

The current plan is to have the new management contract in place when the old one expires at the end of March 2010 and subsequently invest the modernization money.

Part 14: Why delaying work on the modernization of the Radford Army Ammunition Plant would be a major mistake

(Daniel Goure is vice president of the Lexington Institute, an independent think tank in Arlington, Va.)

(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News