O-127 IM in a deployed environment

The Operational Tempo in today’s deployed environment combined with lessons learned from historical accidents have created a shared vision and policy by many nations to procure and field safer munitions. How will Insensitive Munitions (IM) change the way we store and ship ammunition in a deployed environment? This paper will discuss issues related to the operational storage benefits of IM, but also discuss why IM will be stored no differently than other conventional munitions in a deployed environment unless priorities change.

Imagine a Multi-National Ammunition Holding Area somewhere in Southeast Asia. The site is designed to accommodate the storage of Basic Load Ammunition for a Brigade. It has approximately 20 open storage barricaded sites. Ammunition is packaged according to United Nations standards and loaded in ISO Containers. A typical storage cell consists of four ISO Containers sitting side-by-side between two earthen barricades. Cell A is one of 20 licensed sites to store 4,000 kilograms of mixed compatibility. Intermagazine separation distance between each cell is 13 meters. The ammunition in this cell belongs to the U.S. The adjoining cell is reserved for a NATO ally. Base operations to maintain the infrastructure such as public works and utilities is the responsibility of the U.S. Army, therefore managing the area and submitting plans for approval were already completed in accordance with U.S. policies and procedures. Several nations are represented and storing munitions in the Ammunition Holding Area, Allied Forces have 155mm artillery shells that are IM compliant, hazard classified as 1.6. However the Fuzes are classified as 1.2.2 and the propellant is 1.3. What is the optimum storage solution for these munitions?