THE RELIABILITY OF STORAGE CONTAINERS TO PROVIDE EXTENDED SHELF LIFT FOR WEAPONS

WELL DESIGNED SHIPPING AND STORAGE CONTAINERS HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR PROVIDING PROTECTION TO WEAPONS FOR AN INDEFINITE PERIOD OF TIME WITH VERY LITTLE MAINTENANCE REQUIRED. WHETHER OR NOT THIS DEGREE OF PROTECTION HAS BEEN ACHIEVED WITH CURRENT CONTAINER TECHNOLOGY HAS NOT BEEN CONCLUSIVELY DETERMINED. THIS PROPOSED INVESTIGATION IS TO MAKE AN IN-DEPTH EVALUATION OF THE RELIABILITY OF CURRENT CONTAINERS TO PROVIDE A LONG TERM ENVIRONMENT AROUND WEAPONS WHICH WOULD PRECLUDE THE INITIATION OF CORROSION, AND TO IDENTIFY SHORTFALLS IN CONTAINER DESIGNS WHICH MAY ADVERSELY AFFECT THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THIS GOAL. THE PHASE I INVESTIGATION WILL FOCUS ON THOSE WEAPON SYSTEMS PLACED IN SERVICE PRIOR TO 1980 AND TO WHICH CURRENT CONTAINER TECHNOLOGY WAS APPLIED. DATA GATHERING TECHNIQUES TO BE USED INCLUDE RECORDS RESEARCH, FIELD VISITS AND BROAD DISSEMINATION OF AN APPROPRIATE QUESTIONAIRE. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT AN ANALYSIS OF THESE DATA WILL PERMIT THE RELIABILITY OF CONTAINERS TO PROTECT WEAPONS IN STORAGE TO BE FULLY DOCUMENTED, AND WILL IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCING CONTAINER TECHNOLOGY.