ItaliAn Agency for Ballistics

 

The demilitarization consists in making a military ammunition no more usable for the aims for which it had been devoted. Generally the demilitarization is followed by the disposal phase in which the explosive components contained in the ammunition come to be destroyed. The need to demil/destroy old munitions or no more usable for technical reasons became in the recent years more and more urgent; from one side because there is the necessity to vacate spaces occupied by hazardous objects and no more useful and from the other side because some items represent an increasing hazard with the rolling on and more the time pass and more their logistic management become troublesome; it is enough to think at the chemical-phisical deterioration that happens in the substances that contain evaporating components. By now, it is attempted to design munitions in such a way that at the end of their life cycle they will be easily demilitarized and destroyed. In order to manage at the best the new productions, activities to prepare rules, guidance and technical precriptions to be met are in progress. Manufacturers and the purchasers shall then consider the matter and shall include in their contracts and designs such technical requirements.

 

In the Demilitarizations field, the activities carried out by the Agency are the followings: 

¨ identification of the technical design requirements that a new item has to meet so as it can be designed and made taking into account its easy demil;

¨ definition of the activities to be carried out in order to demil and destroy old objects;

¨ definition of the logistic policy for those old items not technically disposable;

¨ evaluation of laws and regulations relevant for the demil/disposal.

¨ Preparation of step by step instructions in order to set up the demil workshop line.

¨ Disassembling of artillery ammunition with differentiation of   the different type of material and disposal of the propellant; Customer’s team on the job training included, if required.

 

The Italian Agency for Ballistics is able to support the customer from a technical and organizational point of view. 

Example:  “I have to design an object containing explosive and I wish that its demil process, that will conclude its life cycle,  will be easily performed or in my depots there are objects containing explosive no more usable and I would like to destroy them, but I don't know neither the law constrains nor the operational ways to demil and to destroy  an ammunition”.

 

The activities provided by the Italian Agency for Ballistics in this branch consist in:

¨ Information gathering

The Agency gives a look at the objects to be destined at the demil process, eventually collaborates with the customer in the  recognition of the items if they were not previously present in the logistic cicle (ex. finding, confiscation).

¨ Regulations evaluation

The Agency verifies what is laid down in the current regulation relevant for demil and disposal of the items under study. If a regulation's lack is present then the Agency defines the best operational procedures to assure demil and disposal  respectfully for safety and environment. 

¨ Conclusions

The Agency provides the procedure to be followed to demil and disposal the item under study or defines the requirements that have to be included in the contractual Technical Specifications, if the activities are to be assigned to a third party. In the case the technology or the characteristics of the item do not allow a safety demil and disposal then the Agency will indicate the alternative actions to let a safety storage of the items.

Demilitarization

- ITalian agency for Ballistics -