The
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center (CCDCAC), or Armaments Center, headquartered at
Picatinny Arsenal
The Picatinny Arsenal ( or ) is an American military research and manufacturing facility located on of land in Jefferson and Rockaway Townships in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, encompassing Picatinny Lake and Lake Denmark. The ...
in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, is the US Army's primary research and development arm for armaments and munitions. Besides its Picatinny headquarters, the Armaments Center has three other research facilities, including
Benét Laboratories
Benét Laboratories, part of the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center, is the US Army's primary design, development, engineering and production and field support facility for large caliber armament systems, including ca ...
. The Armaments Center works to develop more advanced weapons using technologies such as
microwave
Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300&n ...
s,
laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...
s and
nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). At this scale, commonly known as the nanoscale, surface area and quantum mechanical effects become important in describing propertie ...
. The Armaments Center was established in February 2019, when it was aligned with the
United States Army Futures Command
The United States Army Futures Command (AFC) is a United States Army Structure of the United States Army#Army Commands, and Army Service Component Commands, command that runs modernization projects. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
The AFC ...
along with its senior organization, the
United States Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. Armaments Center was called the U.S. Army Armament Research Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC).
The Armaments Center is the R&D center for armaments used by the U.S. Army,
United States Special Operations Command
The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States A ...
(SOCOM), and other U.S. military organizations. It is one of the specialized research, development, and engineering centers within the U.S. Army Futures Command. Armaments Center's purpose is to provide battlefield supremacy for U.S. troops through “
overmatch
Overmatch is a concept in modern military thinking which prizes having overwhelming advantages over an adversary to a more significant margin than in traditional warfare. It is related to military superiority. Overmatch uses a military force's "c ...
capabilities.” Over the past 10 years, Armaments Center has developed and released more than 20 products that have provided U.S. troops with “world’s best” capabilities, compared with products from foreign military and other U.S. defense organizations.
Armaments Center is broken into a number of directorates such as "Weapons Systems and Technology Directorate" and "Munitions Systems and Technology Directorate".
History
The Armaments Center traces its history to the creation of the U.S. Army Armament Research and Development Center (ARRADCOM) in 1977. Their mission was to create new and improve old weapons and munitions. Among their early work was modelling of the
M1 Abrams
The M1 Abrams () is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare, it is one of the heavies ...
tank. Under the ARRADCOM command were the R&D centers at Picatinny Arsenal, Edgewood Arsenal, the Ballistic Research Lab and Watervliet Arsenal.
In 1983, ARRADCOM's original mission was handed to the
U.S. Army Armament, Munitions and Chemical Command (AMCCOM) at
Rock Island Arsenal
The Rock Island Arsenal comprises 946 acres (383 ha) and is located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It is home to the United Stat ...
. However, the original weapons and munitions R&D mission remained at Picatinny after being renamed the U.S. Army Armament Research and Development Center (ARDC). In 1986, a further reorganization of all of the Army's R&D centers caused ARDC to become ARDEC. This name was retained when the group was transferred again to the Tank-automotive and Armament Command (TACOM) in 1994, and again to the Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) in 2003.
Among the many systems the Armaments Center has worked on over its history are the
Patriot missile,
fire control system
A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a Director (military), director and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs th ...
s and ammunition for the
M2 Bradley
The M2 Bradley, or Bradley IFV, is an American infantry fighting vehicle that is a member of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle family. It is manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Armaments (formerly United Defense) and entered service in 1981, with fi ...
,
M1 Abrams
The M1 Abrams () is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare, it is one of the heavies ...
, and
M712 Copperhead anti-tank artillery missile. More recently, ARDEC has worked on bunker defeat munitions,
XM107 sniper rifle, M919 round for the
M242 Bushmaster
The M242 Bushmaster chain gun is a 25 mm caliber, 25 mm (25×137mm) single-barrel chain-driven autocannon. It is used extensively by the United States Armed Forces, U.S. military, such as in the Bradley fighting vehicle, as well as by other NAT ...
,
M830
The M830 is an American 120×570mm NATO high explosive anti-tank multi purpose (HEAT MP-T) cartridge which has anti-armor and anti-personnel capabilities. This round is meant for the 120 mm M256 main gun of the M1A1 and M1A2 Abrams. The round was ...
high-explosive anti-tank
High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is the effect of a shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armor. The warhead functions by having an explosive charge collapse a metal liner inside the warhead into a high-velocity ...
(HEAT) munition, M211 and M212 countermeasure flares,
M4 carbine
The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle. The M4 is extensively used by the US mi ...
, and many other systems.
Efforts to diversify the Armaments Center revenue stream have led to a growth in non-Army revenue from about $60 million in FY 2001 to $140 million in FY07. The overall revenue has increased from approximately $600 million in FY 2001 to around $1.2 billion in FY 2007. Designated as the benchmark for the Army in technology transfer, ARDEC has had approximately 75 percent of its technology projects transition from research into customer funded development since FY 2005.
The Armaments Center has received awards and recognition based on customer satisfaction and perceived value including Value Engineering Accomplishments of Merit. Over the past five years, The Armaments Center has won 13 of the Army’s “10 Greatest Inventions of the Year” awards.
In 2003, the various Army RD&E centers were put under the
Research, Development and Engineering Command
The Combat Capabilities Development Command, (DEVCOM, aka CCDC) (formerly the United States Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM)) is a subordinate command of the U.S. Army Futures Command. RDECOM was tasked with "creatin ...
located at
Aberdeen Proving Ground
Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work at APG. There are 11 major commands among the tenant units, ...
in Maryland. Recently in 2019, the United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center came under the new Army Future's Command and became known as the Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center.
See also
*
Nanoweapons
References
{{Authority control
Research installations of the United States Army
Military simulation
Morris County, New Jersey
1977 establishments in New Jersey