applications of mobile explosives magazines

The mobile explosion-resistant storage magazines are designed for use by:

Police and military forces

PYRO and AMMO magazines are the most suitable for readiness stocks of small-calibre ammunition (1.4G/S, 1.3G in PYRO), high explosives, detonators and detonating ammunition (1.1D) even unexploded ordnance (UXO) or improvised explosive devices (IED) in police and military bases. Short safety distances achieved by use of explosion-resistant structures of the magazines allow to store the ammunition and explosives conveniently close to the barracks. More importantly, the readiness stocks in AMMO-2 magazines can be composed of materials which are normally not allowed to be stored in a single magazine, such as high explosives and detonators, which is again very convenient for quick deployment.

These features are very important in foreign missions where bases have to be built as small and compact as possible to optimize logistics and guarding. The ammunition is stored safely and at the same time it is quickly available when needed. Furthermore, the magazines protect the stored explosives or ammunition against small arms fire of terrorist or insurgents. Even if its content is hit, only the minimum possible event happens as internal protection barriers or storage modules prevents transfer of detonation between stored pieces. The same protective feature is there in case of internal or external fire incidents (such as forest fire). Design of the magazines as standard ISO-1C containers facilitates their good transportability.

One of the original applications of the AMMO magazines was a field storage of demolition materials and found unexploded ordnance (UXO) at the UXO-contaminated sites (former battlefields or military training areas). Features of the AMMO magazine allow to store the UXOs together with demolition charges and detonators in a single store, well protected against burglary.

Police forensic or EOD/IEDD units often cope with necessity to safely store seized explosives of unknown quality, sensitivity and stability (often improvised explosives or IEDs) waiting examination or disposal, together with “standard materials” such as demolition charges or detonators. Storage modules and/or explosion-resistant magazines can provide them the possibility how to do this task safely while minimizing the safety distances and allowing to store the incompatible classes of explosive materials in a single magazine.

Explosives and ammunition manufacturers

In manufacture or processing of explosive materials and ammunition, safety distances between main stores, intermediate stores and operational rooms and related logistics are factors significantly influencing manufacturing costs. The explosion-resistant bunkers (such as AMMO-1) or storage modules can significantly shorten the intra-operational distances

With storage modules, the available rooms in manufacturing buildings can be modified to intermediate stores with maximum capacity corresponding to geometric size of the room but with very low safety distances (defined by unit content of one module, i.e. max. 2.5 kg TNT).

Storage modules used in existing rooms or in AMMO magazine provide for possibility to store normally incompatible materials (such as high explosives with initiators and pyrotechnics and primary explosives) together in a single storage room, which is otherwise forbidden by most of national explosives laws. It again significantly improves the logistics in manufacturing operations.

Application of AMMO-1 magazines as explosion-resistant bunkers for high-risk operations such as demilitarization of ammunition (defuzing/depriming, cutting, pull-away) or processing of explosive charges (cutting, drilling) shortens the safety distances from other operations and protects the operating personnel.

Mobility of all the magazines and storage modules allow the industrial users to easily reconfigure their manufacturing facilities and even move them to different locations. A complete mobile manufacturing or demilitarization lines, which can be moved between different operational places, can be set up from these mobile explosion-resistant structures.

Research and testing centres

Explosives/ammunition research and testing centres often cope with a problem of storage of a large variety of materials (test samples, developed prototypes) in relatively small amounts each. Storage of normally incompatible items (such as detonators, high explosives, primary explosives and pyrotechnics) becomes a problem needing several separate storage places. Furthermore, not all research centres (especially at universities) have enough space (safety distances) for safe storage of explosive materials in quantities they wish to have for their activities.

Application of storage modules and/or PYRO/AMMO magazines solves the both problems – common storage and short safety distances. Storage capacity (1 ton of non-detonating explosives in PYRO magazines, up to 150 kg of detonating explosives in AMMO-2 magazine) is sufficient for most of research centres. These solutions allow to store relatively large amounts of explosive materials even of incompatible classes in more convenient and closer places.

Fireworks and ammunition dealers and users

Dealers of fireworks and their major users need to store relatively large amounts of fireworks items, especially before season events such as New Year’s Eve.

It it is well known that storage of fireworks items in steel ISO containers or concrete bunkers without proper venting areas can lead to deflagration-to-detonation transition with devastating effects on surroundings. As a reaction to several devastating explosions of fireworks in Europe, several European nations passed more stringent laws regulating storage fireworks. On European Union level, a new European Council Directive 2003/105/EC modifying existing Directive 96/82/EC on control of major-accident hazards was passed. This new directive brought new regulations related to permitting of storage areas of larger amounts of fireworks, including analysis or risks of major accidents, approved safety plans, internal and external accident planning.

Knowing that frequently applied storage solutions such as steel ISO containers or confined bunkers lead to deflagration to detonation transitions (DDT) of large stored amount of materials, a new storage solutions needed to be found to present safe storage conditions to the authorities.

Application of PYRO magazines having well-defined and experimentally proven safety distances effectively minimizing chances for DDT behavior is a viable solution how to assure authorities about safe storage conditions of the fireworks items.

PYRO magazines can furthermore serve as safe and secure stores of small-calibre ammo at guns & ammo dealers and major users, where the safe storage of larger quantities of ammunition poses similar risk to storage of fireworks items.

Mobility of the PYRO magazines allows their users to transport the magazines filled with fireworks items directly to site of use (pyrotechnic display) and to safely and securely store the materials there.

PYRO magazines fulfill legal requirements of many countries for safe and secure storage of fireworks and small-calibre ammunition. Design of the PYRO containers can be modified if necessary for fulfilling any specific legal requirements in the country of use.

Blasting and demolition companies

AMMO-2 mobile magazine can bring several benefits to blasting and demolition companies that have to change their place of work frequently such as for demolition works in cities or for digging of traffic tunnels. The mobile magazines can easily be transported between the sites while storing the contained explosive materials safely with minimum necessary safety distances and with high security against possible burglary.

Storage modules used in AMMO-2 magazine protecting against transfer of detonation between modules allow for common storage of explosives and detonators in a single magazine.

These mobile magazines can be easily sold or rented to other similar companies (or other classes of users as discussed in this chapter) if not further used or they can be shared among several users.