Stockpile Reliability Program (SRP)

The SRP determines the continuing performance, reliability and safety of the fielded missile inventories.

Missile systems are designed and specified to meet a minimum shelf life at the time of delivery; shelf life is the term during which a tactical missile will remain safe for handling or operation, meets acceptable reliability levels, and performs as expected in potential tactical engagements. SRP is the mechanism for extending shelf life and allowing continuing use. AMRDEC is recognized worldwide for SRP testing and analyses approaches, and has partnerships with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and 14 foreign military agencies.

Methodology

Army Regulation (AR) 702-6 requires the SRP to be conducted and defines that the SRP consists of surveillance testing, function (flight) testing, and laboratory (component) testing. AMRDEC generates a customized SRP Plan during development of a missile that accounts for the system’s reliability requirement, unit cost, testability, production quantity, reparability, projected life cycle and other factors. The SRP plan is required to be published prior to full materiel release. AMRDEC manages execution of the SRP throughout the missile lifecycle, and is responsible for issuing shelf life extension recommendations. Approximately 5,000 missiles are non-destructively surveillance tested annually, with failing missiles immediately segregated from the wartime inventory. This testing historically increases the reliability of the inventory at each test location by two to seven percent. In addition, over 900 missile components are laboratory tested annually. This data is the primary focus of modern trend analysis techniques for predicting future performance and safety in support of extension decisions. Flight testing provides the assessment of inventory reliability and is critical for identifying system failure modes that cannot be identified in surveillance or lab testing. The SRP efforts have extended the current average shelf life of the tactical missile inventory from 7.9 years at delivery to 23 years.

Successes and Innovation

SRP supported shelf life extensions on over $4.3B of missile inventory. AMRDEC is in continuous pursuit of improvements to reduce lifecycle costs and increase the accuracy of Army missile inventory management decisions. AMRDEC chairs an active partnership between DOD and DOE to develop new and innovative lifecycle technologies and tools. AMRDEC has developed and supported fielding of multiple health monitoring devices that will identify missiles needing to be sampled for testing, determine what levels of environmental exposure are likely to result in failure and optimize the quantities required for SRP testing.