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Iron Warrior 4 and Technical Paper 21
John Tatom; A-P-T Research, Inc.; Huntsville, AL, USA
Shonn (Kevin) McNeill; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Huntsville, AL,
USA
Robert Conway; NAVFAC EXWC; Port Hueneme, CA, USA
Keywords: testing, debris, TP-21, IMESAFR, collaboration, ATF
Abstract
When presented with the opportunity to “piggy-back” on the Iron Warrior IV test, the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) worked with Institute of Makers of
Explosives (IME) to sponsor a debris recovery effort. This effort, which was intended to support
the Institute of Makers of Explosives Safety Analysis for Risk (IMESAFR) model, was
conducted in accordance with Department of Defense (DoD) recommended debris recovery
practices, which are documented in Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board (DDESB)
Technical Paper 21 (TP-21).
Iron Warrior IV was sponsored by the National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC), conducted
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), and
held at Dugway Proving Grounds (DPG). The debris recovery effort, which was supported by
ATF, DoD, IME, and APT Research, Inc. (APT), lasted two weeks and cataloged tens of
thousands of pieces of debris. This debris catalog can be used for multiple purposes, including
anchoring the truck potential explosion site (PES) model in IMESAFR to higher charge weights
than previously available.
IMESAFR was also used to predict the debris throw ranges ahead of the shot, which allowed the
design of a debris collection grid, which was used by the debris recovery team after the shot.
Iron Warrior IV Debris Recovery: ATF’s use of DDESB’s Technical Paper 21
The Iron Warrior IV test was conducted in 2015 at DPG. The focus of this paper is not the
purpose of the test or an overview all experiments, but instead looks at the collaborative effort
undertaken to perform a post-test debris recovery. Of particular interest to DDESB was the
promotion and use of their debris recovery methodology, as documented in TP-21 [Reference 1],
in a test sponsored by other agencies.
1) Background
The NGIC held the initial kickoff meeting for the Iron Warrior project in Charlottesville, VA.
Present were essential personnel from the NGIC, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE),
DPG, and ATF. The initial meeting set the goals of the test and tasked each of the four principal
members to solicit outside agencies for participation.
