Naval Support Activity Crane in Indiana has restarted their production line of composition four (C4) plastic explosives to meet increased demand.
"We put a lot of hours, blood, sweat and tears to get that line up and going," explained Tom Parrish who was the lead mechanical engineer on the project.
In mid-2024, the Army's Close Combat Systems office approached Crane about the possibility of resurrecting their production line of C4 which had been shuttered years ago. At that time there was only one source within the United States that was producing the explosive, and their supply was unable to meet the military's demand.
The project was funded in August 2024, and NSA Crane got to work right away. "There were some components there, fortunately. The bucket conveyors that deliver the bulk C4, an old extruder that had to be rebuilt, and the conveyors that bring C4 blocks from the extruder were still there," said project commodity manager Tony Barger. 14 months after beginning to set up a modernized production line, the first block of C4 rolled off the assembly.
Along the way, the team at Crane faced a number of challenges ranging from early retirement of a team member to a government spending freeze, but they were undeterred by these setbacks. They were overcome by, "looking at every option and not accepting the norm," Barger said in an Army press release.
"I’m proud of this team and what we were able to do in 14 months," Barger said.