325th MXS build MAC II for first time

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Alex Echols
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Members of the 325th Maintenance Squadron put together the Munitions Assembly Conveyor II for the first time April 10 in the Alert Facility parking lot at Tyndall.

The MAC II is an assembly line for munitions and speeds up the process of their build.
United States Patent 4708048 defines it as:

"A system for the rapid assembly of munitions comprising a roller conveyor extending from beneath an on-load gantry, a hoist attached to the on-load gantry, a rail conveyor extending from the on-load gantry to an off-load gantry, a hoist attached to the off-load gantry and dollies which travel between the gantries on the rail conveyor. A munition body is delivered to the on-load gantry by the roller conveyor. The munition body is hoisted onto a dolly and assembly and arming tasks are performed as the munition-laden dolly travels on the rail conveyor. The assembled and armed munition is then removed from the dolly by a hoist on the off-load gantry."

Capt. Arne Gjere, 325th MXS munitions flight commander, oversaw the preliminary assembly of the $85,000 MAC II.

"The MAC II fills a gap in training and will increase our deployment capability, which we should have here in the next year," Captain Gjere said. "This time it took about six hours to assemble, which included removing factory packaging and the initial inventory and inspection of all components. For most of these Airmen, it is their first time utilizing this piece of equipment, but for future training classes, we project assembly time to be about two hours."

While the Alert Facility provides a temporary training area, the MAC will ultimately by set-up on a specialized pad which is part of a projected $9.1 million Military Communications Conference expansion of the Munitions Storage Area. The expansion will also include additional storage structures and a new Maintenance and Inspection facility to support the new combat mission. If funded, construction could start as early as fiscal year 2015.