Current steel can ammunition containers provide almost no thermal insulation in case of fire, acting as baking tins, resulting in the ammunition cooking off, which can end up with numerous casualties and an aborted mission. The current metal cases provide almost no ballistic protection and can be come bent pining the ammunition in so it is unusable. This entry offers insulated fire and ballistic resistant composite cases.

We have successfully made lightweight composite ammunition containers that provide a high degree of insulation and more ballistic protection yet are lighter than existing cases. You can put your hand on the inside wall and fire a propane torch on the outside wall and feel nothing but a slight warmth. This is made possible by ceramic cloth an insulation developed by the European space program that is non-flammable and highly isolative and high temperature non-flammable resin. The cases are constructed from a combination of, S-Glass on the outside, covered with a protective layer of GryptonTM containing boron carbide and Kevlar or Teijin aramid on the inside plus the oxidized Carbon felt. Though S-Glass and carbon fiber do not burn the trick is the resin to hold the cloth together. The resin used is very high temperature water based non-flammable liquid specifically developed for these cases and when flame is applied it hardens into ceramic.

Benefit to War Fighter
The primary benefit to the warfighter is in not being blown up by his own ammunition in case of a fire. In addition, these cases are lighter than the existing steel cases and do not rust and are waterproof. If bent they bounce back to the original shape and are lighter to carry. They are also corrosion resistant to most chemicals including JP8, oil, acids and bases. The cases if emptied of ammunition and filled with sand can provide excellent ballistic protection. The cases also provide better ballistic protection than the existing steel cases due to the use of boron carbide and aramid fiber.

The manufacturing cost avoidance is calculated not in the cases themselves but the missions, personnel and equipment there use would result in not having to be replaced. Not sure of the actual number of warfighters that have been killed as a result of their own ammunition exploding or the amount of equipment destroyed but if you were one of those warfighters it would be priceless. Again this is not the cost of the cases but the procurement savings from using the cases and the resulting savings in men, woman and material saved.

These cases are very tough and will not rust or corrode, but again the Life-Cycle cost avoidance/savings is in the lives, missions and material they preserve from the ammunition not exploding. The cases could be in use for 10-20 or more years. These cases are also great building blocks to build fire and ballistic resistant barriers though could not be used as cooking pots as our ammunition cases from Vietnam were used by the villagers and enemy.