Manufacturing Technology for the APOBS System

If the APOBS system is to be deployed and proliferated, it must be inexpensive to produce. The key to efficient manufacture is to understand the short term launch acceleration loads and long term temperature and material creep forces to which the system will be subjected. Then configure a simple attachment scheme which ensures high reliability and high speed production. In order to successfully manage a manufacturing program such as APOBS, it is necessary to understand the technical issues relating to line throwing systems, deployment issues relating to miitary reliability and safety, as well as modern manufacturing technologies. Each of these is critical and of equal importance. SAA International (SAA) iscurrently producing the U.S. Army Launched Grapnel Hook (LGH) countermine system in quantities of 2,000 per month, and the manufacturing processes that are being employed have been highly refined and are similar to those that may be required for the manufacture of APOBS. A successful QC plan has also been developed and approved for LGH production. In addition, SAA has a validated line throwing system simulation that has been used very effectively on the design and development of the LGH as well as the related SAPLIC line charge system, and we have employed this simulation to examine requisite launch conditions in detail.