Radford Army Ammunition Plant (RFAAP) is an

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

manufacturing complex for the U.S. military with facilities located in Pulaski and Montgomery Counties,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. The primary mission of the RFAAP is to manufacture propellants and

explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...

in support of field artillery, air defense, tank,

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

, and naval weapons systems. As of 2011 RFAAP is operated by

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

under contract to the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

Joint Munitions Command. The current Commander for the Radford Army Ammunition Plant (RAAP) is Lt. Col. Adrien G. Humphreys.

History

RFAAP was established April 5, 1941 as Radford Ordnance Works and New River Plant. In 1945, the works was renamed Radford Arsenal and the New River Ordnance Works was assumed as a subpost until 1950, when it became an integral part of the Radford Arsenal. In 1961 the arsenal was renamed Radford Ordnance Plant and RFAAP in 1963. The facility used an

ALCO MRS-1 The ALCO MRS-1 is a type of diesel-electric locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company for the United States Army Transportation Corps. They were built with rail gauge, multigauge trucks and to a reduced loading gauge for service anywhere ...

military diesel locomotive, road number B2072, for switching, which was retired by the 1980s and scrapped at Cycle Systems in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...

around 1993. From 1970 to 1985, there were nine major explosions at RFAAP that caused multiple deaths and millions in damage. Notably, an explosion equivalent to 8,600 pounds of TNT destroyed the plant's TNT manufacturing facility and injured 100 workers in 1974, and a 5,000-pound nitroglycerine explosion in 1985 killed two employees and left a half-acre crater. In 1995,

Alliant Techsystems Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) was an American Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and arms industry, arms manufacturer headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia. The company operated across 22 states, Puerto Rico, and internationally. ATK reven ...

, parent company ATK Armament Systems, obtained a "facilities use" contract. In 1999, RFAAP gained the load, assembly and pack mission with the closure of

Joliet Army Ammunition Plant Joliet Army Ammunition Plant (JOAAP, formerly known as the Joliet Arsenal) was a United States Army arsenal located in Will County, Illinois, near Elwood, Illinois, south of Joliet, Illinois. Opened in 1940 during World War II, the facility consis ...

in Illinois. "Radford is capable of producing mass quantities of solvent and solventless propellants to support direct fire, indirect fire, and rocket applications." On May 12, 2011, the Army announced that

had won the "facilities use" contract to become the plant operator.

Facilities

RFAAP is housed on with 1,038 buildings, 214 igloos and storage capacity of 657,003 square feet where the New River divides Pulaski from Montgomery County. RFAAP is home to several tenants of similar industry, including: * New River Energetics – Commercial Propellants * Alliant Techsystems – Medium Caliber LAP * Appalachian Railcar Service – Railcar Repair * Alliant Ordnance – Laboratory Facilities * Med Cal LAP – Manufacture of 25MM & 30MM Ammo * Montgomery County PSA – Drinking Water Sales to Montgomery County * Alexander Arms – Development, manufacturing, and sales of commercial rifles and ammunition * ALTESS – US Army Acquisition, Logistics & Technology Enterprise Systems & Service * Waco Inc. – Mechanical work on pipes and buildings, abatement of any asbestos containing materials and lead abatement. * Virginia Tech – Rail Car unloading and Coal Storage * Pyrotechnique by Grucci – Manufacture custom pyrotechnics for fireworks and DOD simulators. * NTS – testing & lab support * Cave Spring Painting – Equipment storage for commercial painting * Alliant Painting – Equipment storage for residential painting * Valley Turf – Office & Maintenance Shop for RFAAP mowing contractor and lawn tractor repairs< * US Cellular – Cellular Communications Tower Site * Crown Castle (CFW Wireless) – Cellular Communications Tower Site * GDOTS – General Dynamics MK-90 Field Rep Office

Environmental problems

In June 2015 the plant requested a renewal of its permit of an open burning ground which it has used for decades to dispose of its waste. The ground is "located on the north bank of the New River in the Horseshoe Area, a section of the plant surrounded on three sides by the river". Rapid modernization is addressing this concern.

References

External links

Radford Army Ammunition Plant websiteJoint Munitions Command website
* {{Coord, 37, 11, 02, N, 80, 32, 41, W, display=title United States Army arsenals Industrial installations of the United States Army United States Army logistics installations United States Army arsenals during World War II Historic American Engineering Record in Virginia Montgomery County, Virginia Pulaski County, Virginia Virginia Tech