HOME OF HARPOON

[Music] three minutes [Music] [Music] oh more time [Music] the u.s navy's premier anti-ship missile is assembled here in saint charles missouri near the missouri river in this ultra-modern complex the home of harpoon these facilities constructed at a cost of 21 million in company funds have been designed to serve harpoon now and into the foreseeable future within our management and support personnel section level assembly missile assembly and test depot maintenance and storage the two major buildings comprising this complex are the section level assembly and office building and the ordinance building with its test cells the total facility is enclosed within a security fence an inner fence surrounds the ordnance building and magazines the single entrance into the ordinance area is guarded 24 hours a day seven days a week the entire complex is illuminated with flood lights and patrolled by security guards the ordinance building is equipped with an intrusion alarm system that senses any movement or opening of doors during non-working hours the section assembly building is where harpoon first begins to take form here the missile sustainer section control section and guidance section are built up assembled and tested under carefully controlled conditions the sustainer section buildup begins with the installation of fuel lines associated valves and the engine start tank the fuel system is leak tested with a helium mass spectrometer to ensure pressurized storage integrity for a minimum five-year period the wire bundle assemblies for interconnection between the sustainer component sections are then installed along with the missile battery pyrotechnics relay panel and electronic control amplifier an insulation blanket is then secured around the tailpipe of the government furnished turbojet engine and the unit is installed in the sustainer section each operation is verified and approved by company and government quality control inspectors upon completion of this phase of assembly operations the sustainer section undergoes an acceptance test on the missile subsystem test set or msts here electrical functions and connections are verified within the sustainer and between the sustainer the warhead and the control sections the next step is to move the sustainer to the fuel servicing area where a fuel similar to jp5 is added fuel loading accuracy is attained by using precision electronic load cells to weigh the sustainer during fuel transfer final cleanup inspection and door installation are then done in section assembly meanwhile the control and guidance section build up and assembly is being accomplished in the adjacent area control fin actuators and wiring are installed in the control section housing the seeker power supply altimeter and mid course guidance unit or mgu are installed in the guidance section completed harpoon missile sections are placed on the msts for comprehensive fully automated go no go tests ranging from 15 minutes to over an hour depending upon the section involved the msts prints out a complete record concerning the unit under test the date and time of the test the type of test performed and the actual values measured for each of the test parameters the us navy weapons stations at concord california and yorktown virginia and other allied government weapons stations are equipped with missile subsystem test sets which are identical to those used in saint charles thereby assuring uniformity of testing for all harpoon missiles throughout the world upon completion of the assembly and test operations in the section level production facility the finished units are transferred to the ordinance building the ordinance area consists of an office building the harpoon missile body building or hmb the all-up round or aur building and five remote storage magazines the ordinance facility constructed under military and government regulations conforms to national state and local building requirements and codes throughout the complex the utmost attention has been given to safety in production and testing all of the buildings have blast resistant doors and thick reinforced concrete walls [Music] the office is separated from the assembly area by a long tunnel with two 90-degree turns as a safety precaution against explosion the missile assembly facility is also equipped with pneumatically operated tools and bridge cranes rather than those using electricity the entire st charles complex is protected against fire damage by a standard water sprinkler system but because of the high value of the msts a halon gas fire suppression system is also installed in the control room and test cells this system is activated at a lower temperature than the sprinkler system to extinguish any possible fires without releasing the water within the hmb portion of the assembly building the missile body is assembled and tested warheads are brought from the storage magazine and assembly is completed by mating the guidance and sustainer section wiring and adding the arming and fusing components inspections are made by company and government quality control personnel after each section has been joined to its adjacent assembly the missile sections are mechanically and electrically assembled into a harpoon missile body or hmb which is transported by overhead rail to a test cell where it is placed on the msts the cell is cleared the blast door is closed and locked and flashing red lights are activated all tests are conducted by remote control and monitoring of activities by closed circuit tv two identical msts cells are controlled and monitored from one central control room the acceptance test of the hmb is computer controlled and takes approximately one hour and five minutes to be completed 926 items are recorded and measured against given parameters this printout becomes a part of the record which accompanies the missile a permanent record is also retained in the saint charles quality control record center for future use when the missile body is completed it is transferred to the all-up round building either for shipment as an hmb or for build up into an aur configuration harpoons destined for launch by surface vessels or submarines require a booster motor as part of the launch kit to prepare the booster motor a launch kit interstage aft skirt and electrical and mechanical parts are added this assembly is then transported by overhead rail to the test cell in the aur building for electrical verification of its arm and fire mechanism the booster motor assembly is then attached to the harpoon missile body and returned to the test cell for final checkout aurs configured for canister or submarine launch have the remainder of their launch kits installed and are inserted in either a canister or capsule all up browns and harpoon missile bodies are then placed in containers and are transferred to the storage magazines prior to shipment commercial carriers are used to transport harpoon missiles to naval ordnance and weapons stations from here harpoons will travel throughout the world with the us fleet or the navies of our allies around the globe the close attention that every harpoon has received does not however end at delivery to the customer mcdonnell douglas astronautics its st louis missile division production facility and its personnel are dedicated to the full support of the harpoon missile throughout its life cycle to serve these ends the saint charles missile production facility also encompasses a complete depo-level test and repair capability this depot handles all hmbs under warranty and those not under warranty which the navy may elect to return for rework here the hmb is retested and failure analysis is conducted to determine which weapon replaceable assembly known as wra is at fault for example if the failed wra is a radar seeker it is subjected to failure-free temperature and vibration testing after repair final alignment and acceptance testing is then conducted in the anechoic chamber this is done with equipment and procedures duplicating those used by the radar seeker manufacturer the wra again operational is then returned to the spares crib the new home of harpoon in full operation is designed to meet the continued and growing needs of its customers now and into the future to serve the needs of its customers mcdonnell douglas has brought together the most professional personnel to produce the most advanced missile designs in the most modern dedicated facilities here at the home of harpoon you