World Military Packaging Trends and Countermeasures

Foreign countries attach great importance to military packaging. Some developed countries use packaging to improve the quality of weapons and equipment protection. They regard packaging as a partner for rapid response to the armed forces, and regard packaging as an integral part of the manufacturing and production of weapons and equipment, as well as important work links. Packaging has the characteristics of the times. The author also discussed the development of military packaging in China.

Doing a good job of routine military packaging can not only reduce the requirements for the storage environment, but also reduce the humidity control conditions of the warehouse, and it can also be adapted to the transportation and storage in the field and under war conditions, which is in line with the conditions of modern warfare and field equipment storage. The requirements, at the same time, are also conducive to force maneuvering and facilitate the establishment of a highly mechanized battlefield rapid security system, so as to obtain obvious economic and military benefits, and create conditions for winning the war. Foreign countries attach great importance to military packaging. Some developed countries use packaging to improve the quality of weapons and equipment protection. They regard packaging as a partner for rapid response to the armed forces, and regard packaging as an integral part of the manufacturing and production of weapons and equipment, as well as important work links. Packaging has the characteristics of the times.

Foreign military packaging development trends

Since the Gulf War, military packaging in developed countries in the world has made considerable progress. The United States, Britain, Germany, France, Russia, and Japan have actively formulated relevant technical plans and worked hard to develop military packaging. They have achieved a series of achievements and benefits. Mainly in the following aspects.

1. Actively develop and execute packaging plans

The economic loss due to corrosion is 50 billion mark/year in Germany, which is equivalent to the total annual expenditure of the Department of Defense; the United States is approximately 200 billion US dollars/year. Therefore, adopting appropriate anti-corrosion and packaging measures can reduce or avoid huge economic losses and save a lot of money. In view of this situation, the United States and Germany and other countries have paid more attention to weapons packaging in recent years and are actively implementing the relevant plans. According to reports, the German Federal Army has formulated a “ZML Plan” involving the preservation and maintenance of weapons. The US Army has issued a plan to prevent and control corrosion of military equipment, namely the “AR750-59 Plan”. The above plan of the US Army stipulates that the deputy chief of staff of the Logistics Department is responsible for leading the work; the officials of the Army Equipment Command are responsible for the planning and implementation of the plan; and the Anticorrosion Research Center of the Materials Technology Research Institute under the command is responsible for the anti-corrosion packaging work.

2. Envelope packaging is expanding

The use of soft packaging for military packaging to seal and store has the outstanding advantage of being able to store various military equipment flexibly in open spaces outside the warehouse. As a result, its application in countries around the world is increasing. In recent years, many varieties of soft packaging envelopes have been developed abroad. They have evolved from a single plastic envelope to a composite envelope, from the basic functions of waterproofing, moisture-proof and sealing to special functions (ie, stealth packaging) with “three defenses” capabilities and anti-infrared cameras, and are welcomed by the military. US Eiwiropak uses a dark blue plastic/plastic composite envelope to encapsulate the M6041 main battle tank and M11341 armored transport vehicle; Russia uses polyethylene envelopes to encapsulate tanks and infantry combat vehicles; 39 countries including Germany and the United Kingdom use the Dielad envelope system to package tanks, Artillery, aircraft, warships, and ammunition; Germany used the envelope system to seal two 48-tank tanks; Germany's Mnters also used its own envelope system to package long-sword anti-aircraft air-raid missile caterpillar launchers, "sniffy dog" missiles and aircraft; the British used Texikoon envelopes. The system seals tanks and aircraft; Italy uses Pirelli's rubberized rubber jacket system to seal the main battle tanks.

Soft packaging envelopes generally use advanced composite materials. For example, in the United States, the envelope material used to encapsulate the M6041 main battle tank is polyvinyl chloride/polyester mesh/polyvinyl chloride (Driguorrd 1127), PVDC/PVC/PET mesh/PVDC/PVC (Driguorrd 1527), and moisture permeability. Generally lower, usually less than 0.10g/100in2·24h.

3. Dry packaging develops rapidly

In packaging, temperature and humidity are the major causes of corrosion, degradation, deterioration, destruction, and loss of use of military products. All kinds of military equipment need a certain humidity environment during packaging and storage. For example, the relative humidity limit of metal products is 10% to 45%, rubber is 40% to 80%, optical instruments are 20% to 40%, and electronic equipment. It is 20% to 70% and ammunition is 45% to 55%. Based on the above data, the optimal relative humidity for military equipment packaging and storage is about 45%. Practice has proved that dry air packaging and storage are both economical and effective methods. The military in various countries has used this method to develop large-scale equipment such as naval vessels, army tanks, and artillery, which have been archived, to archived weapons, electronic and electrical instruments, and military aircraft that integrate various materials. It has become the best reliable method for the long-term or short-term storage of military equipment by the armed forces of the sea, land and air. There is a further trend in its research and application.

The Danish and Swedish Air Forces used dry air sealed packaging to successfully seal off aircraft weapon systems. Denmark saves about 2 million Danish kroner a year and saves 25% of maintenance personnel. Sweden prolongs the average time for malfunction of electronic and electrical instruments, prolongs the average time for radar failure by 73%, and extends the use of aircraft cabin instruments. 155%, the use of the whole machine has been extended by 26%. The sum of these costs adds up to about SEK 25 million per year. The German Air Force has also achieved good results with the dry air storage method for the storage of military aircraft. Germany has developed this. Six kinds of dynamic dehumidification systems for long-term storage of large military equipment, namely the use of drying room (MRZ), drying system (LEH), matching flexible packaging (ASH), universal flexible packaging (USH), and module protection Shed (MSB) and so on. For example, the German protective canopy for storing anti-tank guns consists of a bracket and a coated fabric envelope. The internal pressure of the 10 mm water column is naturally maintained by a dryer. The latter two types of sealed packaging are commonly used for various large military equipment, such as leopard tanks and Weasel infantry fighting vehicles. In addition, the United States, Britain, France, Canada, the Netherlands and Israel have all adopted dry air systems to seal aircraft and weapons systems.

4. Increased use of plastic packaging containers

According to reports, the United States has developed a plastic box for packing M16 rifles. The box consists of a box body and a box lid. The upper and lower parts can hold 6 rifles, and one plastic box can hold 12 rifles. It can be reused many times and meet the requirements of environmental regulations. Europe has developed a plastic packaging drum for packaging, transporting and storing three-purpose cotton cloth bulk gunpowder. The plastic cartridge is composed of a cylinder body, an insertable cylinder cover, and a cylinder bottom, and is characterized by sufficient strength and excellent antistatic properties. performance. In the manufacture of the cylinder, carbon fiber is added, and the inner wall of the cylinder is coated with a conductive paint (for example, a conductive paint containing aluminum flakes), which can further improve the antistatic ability. Carbon black and metal powder are also added to the cylinder cover and the bottom of the cylinder. Metal fiber made of polyethylene or polythiophene plastic. Germany developed a new plastic tube for packaging cannonballs. The plastic packaging tube is composed of a cylinder body, a bottom of a cylinder, a cylinder lid, a liner lined paper cylinder, and an elastic material sealing ring. Its feature is that: the internal surface of the cylinder body is longitudinally spaced three times apart by 120 degrees. The angled arc-shaped guide bar enables the paper tube to be easily centered and pushed into the cylinder; the paper cylinder is spirally wound from multi-layer paperboard, and is adhered to the plastic cylinder body, which has the function of absorbing moisture in the cylinder to increase the package's Protection function.

5. Improved structural design of packaging

In recent years, the U.S. military has accepted and identified a large number of new packaging structures. The U.S. Army Ordnance Research, Development and Engineering Center has conducted tests to identify the metal barrel structure of the 2 packaged 120mm tank bomb, the ten-ply wooden box structure of the metal box for packaging 7.62mm ammunition, and the structure of the barrel of the 7.62mm gunpowder WC750 propellant. 120mm M831 and M831E2 practice fire trace tank bombs, generally use PA116 metal tube packaging. The specific approach is to add a foamed polyethylene support at the interface between the projectile and the flammable cartridge to increase the resistance to damage. The improved packaging structure allows the flammable cartridges to withstand the 7ft/46rad drop test for simulated rough handling, greatly improving the packaging protection performance.

6. Using new packaging materials

In order to change the defects of damp wrap deformation and ammunition deterioration of the packaging paper barrels, the National Oak Ridge Institute of America conducted research on the improvement of the paper cartridges and other containers to replace the paper cartridges. In terms of improving the paper tube, a solution for waterproofing and moisture-proofing of the coated paper tube was proposed, and four coating materials were selected. In addition, the wall structure and the more easily openable neck sealing structure have been studied to extend the storage time. For "anti-explosion packaging", a feasible packaging material has been developed. According to reports, the U.S. military has successfully developed a packing material that can be filled inside a packaged explosives container to prevent popping. The material is a composite material that is mixed with a binder and can be cast. It is light, porous, absorbs shock waves, and absorbs shock. Filling this kind of material into the packaging container not only can prevent the explosion of the explosive in one container, but also can prevent the explosion of the explosives in the adjacent other containers and solve the problem in the ammunition packaging.

7. Development of military packaging to pallet assembly

Palletized containerized packaging has many features such as large loading capacity, convenient management and use, and saving transportation costs. The United States is the first country to make large palletized wooden boxes. The Pica Tinny Arsenal pioneered the manufacture of a large pallet wooden box capable of carrying 86 rounds of 62mm rockets instead of 45 rounds of loaded bullets. The three ordinary wooden boxes of similar size were then used to make 42 rounds of 105mm. The large shells of the shells replaced 21 ordinary wooden boxes with the same number of shells. The U.S. Army has developed a large-sized tray-type wire bundle wooden box. This box is used as an outer packaging box and can hold 38 rounds of 105mm M490 anti-tank coaches that are packed in asphalt drums. The total weight is 1103.4kg and the volume is 1.328 cubic meters. Meter. Compared with the old packaging, the package weight was reduced by 14.1%, the volume was reduced by 37.5%, and the packaging material was saved by 59%. The container can also be used for the packaging of other tank bombs. Another new invention of the US Army's 105-ton tank package is the mounting of 30 or 35 metal packages on a metal tray to form a reusable unit package. A unit package allows one tank to be loaded and used. Once loaded, only the metal end cap needs to be opened to remove the projectile, and the bomb can be automatically fed into the tank. This is very convenient to use.

8. Military Container Transport Development

Due to the advantages of safe and rapid container transportation, high protection performance, simplified packaging, and reduced packaging costs, the US military has gradually increased the number of containers used, and the scope of use has continued to expand. Now, new types of containers that can be opened from the top and side are being developed and purchased. The U.S. military also set up an execution team for container transportation ammunition and missiles. The mission of the U.S. military is to improve the gaskets and fastening methods, reduce the cost of containers, and strive to achieve 100% of transport of ammunition in containers. At present, 80% of the ammunition shipped to Europe by the U.S. military has been transported by military containers. During the Gulf War, the U.S. military used more than 37,000 military and commercial containers of about 20 tons to transport military equipment and equipment to combat areas. This war has accumulated valuable experience in expanding the use of containers. Practical experience shows that the small size, openable structure that can be opened from the top and side, and convenient loading and unloading is more practical because it can overcome the disadvantages of inconvenient loading and unloading of military containers and oversize (about 4300mm in height).

At present, the US military is purchasing containers of this structure. After the United States, Germany developed a new type of fully open and open container, which is economical, practical and flexible. The container is composed of two side walls, a top cover and an end wall. It belongs to the cover type structure. A person can push the cover in 40s to remove the lock and automatically raise it. Its main features are: reduced height, not limited by low bridges during transportation, and easy loading and unloading of goods at the top and sides.

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