Corrosion protection of munitions using metal arc spray technology

The design, development, plant integration, and operation of an automated wire arc spray system to implement metallizing technology for corrosion protection of U.S. Air Force general purpose bombs are described. The zinc/aluminum metallized coating sealed with waterborne acrylic latex direct to metal replaced the original solvent-borne primertopcoat system to yield an environmentally compliant lifetime corrosion protection coating that eliminates the current requirement for stripping and re-coating munitions every 5 years. Conservative 20-year life cycle analyses predicted substantial cost savings for the Air Force as well as the achievement of environmental compliance at the Kadena AB Bomb Renovation Plant in Okinawa, Japan.