Underground Ammunition Storage
Historically, ammunition for the defence forces has been stored in overground
depots/dumps constructed outside the city limits in view of the safety requirements of
ammunition storage . However with the expansion of the cities, the ammunition
depots are no longer outside the city limits and have substantial civilian population
settled on their periphery thus becoming a safety hazard. With the non availability of
land for future storage construction and the increase in ammunition inventory for
modern weapon systems, as also, the adversaries’ capability to carry out long range
strikes on the ammunition stockpiles, it has become imperative to seek other methods
of ammunition storage to obviate the increasing constraints of conventional
overground storage.
An emerging concept of underground (UG) / tunneled storage of ammunition, as adopted by
western countries is gaining ground due to its inherent advantages like:
Lesser requirement of land as compared to conventional storage methods
Easier camouflage from enemy’s observation/ satellite imagery
Inherent protection from enemy strikes as compared to over ground sheds
Lesser chance of sympathetic detonation to balance ammunition in case of any blast/ sabotage
Degree of protection against bombing is better due to being underground
Temperature in UG chambers is almost constant thus enhancing storage life of the ammunition
Construction of storage can be as per military/operational plan and not be dictated by availability of
land.
Enhanced safety to human life, civilian or combatant, in case of any untoward accident.
The concept of UG/ tunneled storage, as opposed to conventional sheds, implies construction of
ammunition storage facilities under the surface of the earth. These could be excavated/ natural
geological cavities like caves or caverns in the mountains or manmade underground
single/multi chambers which are connected to each other .
Apart from providing better logistics on the front in the event of a war, these underground
shelters will also ensure that critical war-fighting ordnance is better protected from enemy
attacks as well as the weather.
The crucial war-fighting assets like missiles provide NBC (nuclear, chemical, biological)
protection without the threat of detection by enemy satellites and spy drones. The military
requirement and safety considerations will dictate the design parameters and the number of
chambers/caverns needed at each site. The design and construction would also need to factor in
adequate safety precautions like automatic smoke detection and alarm system as also suitable
dimensions to permit easy movement of transport and personnel within the chambers. In the first
phase, ammunition that is expensive and operationally important could be stored in such
underground shelters in the operational areas .On successful completion of the pilot project at
these two sites, the project would be extended to other storage facilities for the defence forces.
This concept has already been adopted by a number of developed countries and based on their
experience, India can implement the same with modifications subject to climatic and terrain
conditions as existing on its frontiers. The cost of excavation or modification of the existing
caverns besides the procurement and maintenance of specialized equipment would however
increase the initial cost as compared to conventional sheds. In the long run, this additional
expenditure would be adequately offset by the inherent advantages of tunneled /UG storage.
Ammunition/ missiles form the backbone of a nations fighting force and keeping the
omnipresent threat of a NBC backdrop in any future conflict in mind, there is an urgent need to
adopt these innovative storage practices to safeguard this expensive and vitally important
national asset so that the war waging capabilities are not adversely impacted.
The author is a Senior Fellow at CLAWS.
The views expressed are personal.
Climate and weather effects on ammunition and explosives
The frequency of UEMS incidents has risen dramatically over the last three decades. The first 10 years
of UEMS records (1987–1996) saw an average of seven incidents per year. That average rose to over 20
per year during the next 10 years (1997–2006) and then increased to 29 incidents during each of the
past six years (2007–2012).58 Many of the UEMS incidents can be attributed to poor stockpile
management procedures that do not meet international standards. However, many of the causes are a
direct consequence of the degradation of old ammunition stocks due to poor storage conditions and
deterioration of ammunition after shelf-life expiry. A large proportion of the UEMS occur in countries
that have extreme diurnal (daytime high and night-time low) temperature cycles. Somalia is one such
case.
A general observation is that ammunition has a shelf life of around 20 years under correct storage
conditions.59 Once passed its shelf life ammunition can become either unreliable or unstable. The
effects of weather, large temperature changes, and high humidity can rapidly degrade the performance
of explosives. In some cases, the weather may make the explosives unserviceable and dangerous to use
within a relatively short space of time—this is especially true when ammunition is stored in less than
ideal conditions or field storage conditions. The effects of high temperatures on explosives can be
divided into the physical60 and chemical61 effects (in some cases, these combine to produce an overall
effect). The storage conditions that are most likely to lead to ammunition degradation occur when
explosives are exposed to considerable temperature fluctuations from day to night, together with high
humidity levels
Special effects—propellants
Chemical deterioration has a profound effect on the shelf life of many explosives, but especially
on propellants. As a guide for prolonged periods of storage, the rate of chemical deterioration is
approximately doubled for every 10°C rise in temperature above 30°C. As noted in the United
Kingdom Ministry of Defence Explosive Regulations (2013, Section 13), the effect of high
temperatures over protracted periods is to halve the shelf life of gun propellants for every 10°C
rise in temperature above 30°C. Thus a propellant with a shelf life of 20 years would be
reduced as follows:
40°C—shelf life is reduced to 10 years
50°C—shelf life is reduced to 5 years
60°C—shelf life is reduced to 2.5 years
70°C—shelf life is reduced to 1.25 years
80°C—shelf life is reduced to 0.58 years
The FGS’s National Adaption Programme of Action on Climate Change indicates that Somalia is
vulnerable to increasing high temperatures, and relative humidity is high in central and southern
coastline (including Mogadishu), ranging from 70 to 80 percent on average. 63 It is important that every
effort is to be made to reduce the effects of high temperatures and moisture on explosives held by units
and in bulk storage locations. It is therefore vital to negate the risk of UEMS that a rigorous surveillance
programme of ammunition is undertaken to ensure ammunition safety and stability during storage. The
chemical, electrical and mechanical properties of ammunition change and degrade with time, leading to
a finite serviceable life for each item. The accurate assessment of ammunition life is of paramount
importance in terms of both safety, cost effectiveness and preventing a UEMS event in Somalia.
