O-069 Recent NIMIC Workshops and Technical Activities

Between November 2000 and June 2001, the NATO Insensitive Munitions Information Center (NIMIC) sponsored a two-part workshop entitled Assessing the Risk and the Cost Benefits associated with the Introduction of IM. The first part, dedicated to risk issues, aimed to identify a method of assessing the potential reduction in risk associated with the insertion of IM technology, or the transition from conventional (non-IM) munitions to IM compliant ones. The aim of part two of the workshop was to establish a methodology to assess the costs and associated benefits for each stage of the life cycle of an IM compliant munition in an existing or new weapon system. This document highlights the activities, conclusions and recommendations of this two-part workshop, and discusses follow-on activities.

The results of a third NIMIC workshop, dealing with IM Assessment Methodology, are also presented. The goal of this workshop was to develop a methodology, including process flowcharts linked to phases of the munition acquisition program, for planning, conducting and documenting a complete and useful IM assessment. It is NIMICs intent that the resulting methodology be used as the basis for a new edition of AOP-39, the guidance document supporting the IM STANAG.

A brief synopsis of other current NIMIC activities (e.g., a survey and analysis of Fragment Impact testing methods, the Cost Benefit Analysis Modeling tool (CBAM), the IM State-of-the-Art database, and the Composite Case Technology Review) is also included.