Service Life Extension of Machine Gun Barrels

The purpose of this Phase-I is to demonstrate the feasibility of using Alameda Applied Sciences Corporation's Coaxial Energetic Deposition (CED) process to increase the life of gun barrels, specifically the Mk-46 and Mk-48 light-weight machine guns, by depositing a protective refractory metal coating to the inside of the barrel as a replacement for the chrome coatings that are presently used. The CED process is capable of depositing virtually any metal or alloy and many types of ceramics to the inside of tubes while using no moving parts. One of the major benefits of the CED process is that the deposition ions are much more energetic than those of other deposition methods, for example sputtering or chemical vapor deposition. Because of these higher energy ions, CED deposited coatings tend to be denser, with fewer cracks and voids, and to adhere better to the substrate. Live-fire tests will be performed on coated Mk-48 gun barrels as part of this Phase-I.