15 June 67 The LANCE PM presented the status of meeting the IRI milestone objectives to DA. DA authorized production of 17 sets of GSE.
20 October 67 The LANCE program came to a stop when the TP-16 missile exploded, 20 seconds after lift-off. This was the fifth TP explosion. A new diagnostic approach—"Root Cause"—was developed, whereby the most likely cause of failure had to be identified and duplicated before the program could apply corrective action and proceed. 15 December 67 The Secretary of Defense decided to field only the Extended Range LANCE and discontinue development of the Basic LANCE. LTV’s contract was modified on 17 July 68 to reflect this change. May 68 LTV duplicated the cause of the TP-16 failure. The Spring on Seal (SOS) corrective action prevented gas from the oxidizer tank from blowing past the seal into the hot, fuel-rich gas of the solid propellant gas generator. 30 August 68 The TP flight test was successful with the SOS feed system. Final certification based on five flights was completed in March 69. 10 December 68 The Secretary of Defense signed a program change decision approving the fielding of the LANCE with nuclear capability. 13 May 69 The first XRL engine flight test met all objectives. 11 July 69 An XRL engine failed due to combustion instability. 24 October 69 The XRL engine with the corrective action indicated by the "Root Cause" was successfully demonstrated. 6 March 70 A successful fight test validated the XRL tactical design at 125 kilometers within 3.5 mils accuracy. 30 July 70 COL Samuel C. Skemp, Jr., became LANCE PM. He served in this capacity until 21 December 70. 9-10 September 70 The Prototype Systems Characteristics Review, a senior IPR, recommended a LANCE program of 75 nuclear missiles and certain GSE, continued development of the non-nuclear warhead, and cancellation of the chemical warhead flight tests. 2 October 70 The Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (VCSA) approved the recommendations of the senior IPR. 1 December 70 The MICOM LANCE Project Office was elevated to a Class II activity assigned to AMC Headquarters, although it was still physically located at Redstone Arsenal.
January 71 LTV received a contract for the first LANCE missile procurement. A unique warranty provision made the contractor responsible for any design change required to correct a performance deficiency at no cost to the government.
13 August 71 The first Engineering Test/Service Test (ET/ST) flight failed after it impacted 2 to 3 kilometers from the launcher. "Root Cause" determined that a power interruption in the nuclear warhead programmer was the source of the failure. 30 November 71 Another ET/ST flight failed. An electronic malfunction in the nuclear warhead circuitry required a major redesign to correct. Nuclear ET/ST completion was delayed from March 72 to January 73 in order to flight test 12 additional missiles required to certify the new design. December 71 Congress cancelled all funds for the development and procurement of a non-nuclear LANCE warhead. 9 May 72 The Development Acceptance/Production Validation Review, an IPR, found LANCE missile performance during ET/ST to be acceptable and recommended TC-STD-A for the missile. It also extended LP quantities for the nuclear warhead. 26 May 72 DA approved type classification Standard A for the LANCE missile. It also approved production of the system to meet overseas deployment. 29 June 72 The MICOM Materiel Release Review Board (MRRB) approved the conditional release of the LANCE system for training. 30 June 72 The first LANCE training battalion was activated at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. January 73 The AMC Commander authorized the LANCE PM to restart development of the non-nuclear warhead since funds were available. 3 March 73 COL Hal C. Bennett, Jr., was named acting PM for LANCE and served until 2 April 73.
13 April 73 The Development Acceptance/Production Validation IPR for the extended nuclear warhead program took place at RSA and recommended TC-STD-A for the nuclear warhead adaption kit. DA approved this recommendation on 23 April 73. 23 May 73 Equipment for the first LANCE overseas battalion was shipped to Germany. September 73 The first LANCE battalion—the 1st Battalion, 333d Field Artillery—was deployed overseas, achieving IOC for the system. April 74 The XM251 non-nuclear warhead completed 10 development flights. The XM811E5 fuze had to be redesigned, delaying Development Test II/Operational Test II (DT II/OT II) for 3 months. 1 August 74 The Office of the PM for LANCE was returned to MICOM’s jurisdiction.
March 75 The first full-scale deployment of the LANCE system to a foreign military sales (FMS) customer (Italy) was accomplished. 30 June 75 Because of a shortage of Unsymmetrical DiMethal Hydrazine (UDMH), 300 LANCE missiles remained unfueled. Limited DOD allocations plus a LANCE spill at ANAD caused a backlog that was not resolved for 2 years. September 75 LANCE deployment in USAREUR was completed. A total of 6 LANCE battalions replaced 4 SERGEANT and 14 HONEST JOHN battalions. 1 October 75 LTC (P) Donald P. Whalen assumed the position of LANCE PM. Promoted to colonel on 1 February 76, Whalen remained LANCE PM until 1 July 78. November 75 The eighth LANCE battalion, originally scheduled for Korea, was activated at Fort Sill and designated as a Strategic Forces Battalion. December 75 A Velocity Control Electronics (VCE) capacitor networks failure revealed that the supplier had changed the design without requalification or notification. A total of 223 faulty units were delivered. Recovery required 15 months. 1976 The U.S. non-nuclear LANCE program received production go-head. 30 September 76 FMS total sales of LANCE by this date amounted to 10 battalions, 76 launchers and 903 missiles. Italy, the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Israel, Belgium and the Netherlands participated. 29 October 76 LTV received a contract to produce 360 non-nuclear missiles. 6 June 77 The new LANCE nuclear warhead—the enhanced radiation warhead—received widespread publicity as the "neutron bomb." The Washington Post reported that the weapon was designed to kill people, but would cause only minimal destruction of property. 13 July 77 Congress approved production funds for the enhanced radiation warhead, but the decision to produce had to be made by the president. September 77 Analysis of U.S. and FMS tests showed that the accuracy and reliability of the LANCE system was equal to or better than the system requirements. 1978 This was the last full production year for LANCE missiles and non-nuclear warhead sections. 1978 The rebuild of LANCE vehicles began at Mainz Army Depot (MZAD) in Germany and ANAD. 7 April 78 President Jimmy Carter decided to defer production of the "neutron bomb" pending a final decision on its manufacture and deployment. May 78 Deployment of the non-nuclear LANCE began. 31 July 78 COL Howard Jelinek became LANCE PM. He remained in this position until 31 March 80. 1 August 78 A stockpile retrofit was completed to correct the excessive accelerometer drift recorded in 1976. The retrofit extended LANCE’s shelf life from 4 to 13 years. 31 March 80 MICOM requested and the U.S. Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command (DARCOM) approved the termination of the LANCE Project Office effective this date. Responsibility for the LANCE transferred to the MICOM Weapon Systems Management Directorate (WSMD). September 80 Deployment of the U.S. non-nuclear LANCE was completed. 1 October 80 LANCE operations at MAMP were closed, and the plant was transferred to the U.S. Army Tank and Automotive Materiel Readiness Command (TARCOM). Tooling for LANCE repair parts moved to LTV, Dallas. Fueling operations at ANAD were also closed. 5 July 81 MICOM activated its Missile Logistics Center (MLC). Previously, WSMD had provided Level II management for the LANCE missile system. This responsibility transferred to MLC’s Fire Support Management Office after the new organization was established. 10 August 81 President Ronald W. Reagan authorized the production of the "neutron bomb" as a warhead for missiles and artillery, reversing the policy set by President Carter. The weapons were to be kept in the United States. 7 April 82 The MICOM Commander approved a full release for issue of the LANCE Improved Gunner’s Sight Unit. The new sight was designed to simply gunner firing operations, reduce maintenance and training requirements, and improve the reliability and accuracy of the missile system. 9 September 82 An MOU between USAREUR and MICOM was finalized on this date, approving the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA) for backup support of selected items on the LANCE and TOW missile systems deployed in Europe. November 82 Deployment of and training for the Improved Gunner’s Sight in USAREUR was completed. FY 84 The LANCE system was extended through 1990. Ground support equipment and other changes were made to support the extension of the missile’s shelf life. June 85 DA decided to extend the nuclear-only LANCE shelf life to 1995. June 89 The LANCE reached the 1000th-missile fired plateau when Federal Republic of Germany troops fired the milestone missile during a flight test at the NATO Missile Flight Installation in Crete, Greece. August 91 AMC held a conference to plan retrograde/demilitarization options on the LANCE missile. 27 September 91 President George Bush announced a large unilateral cut in nuclear weapons. All tactical weapons in Europe and Asia as well as on ships would be eliminated. In addition, long-range bombers and intercontinental missiles would no longer be on a 24-hour alert status. A similar reduction was announced on 5 October 91 by President Mikhail Gorbachev of the U.S.S.R. 1 February 92 The end of the Cold War was proclaimed in Washington by President Bush and President Boris Yeltsin of Russia. 23 May 92 The United States signed an agreement with Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine to abide by the nuclear arms reduction treaty negotiated with the U.S.S.R. before its collapse late in 1991. 30 June 92 The final LANCE battalion stood down at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. FY 93 In response to the aforementioned nuclear arms reduction treaty, the LANCE was demilitarized and reassigned for use as a target. Responsibility for the system transferred from the MICOM Integrated Materiel Management Center (IMMC) to WSMD. July 95 The LANCE demilitarization program was completed at Bishopton, Scotland. Several excess LANCE missiles were set aside for use as targets, resulting in significant cost avoidances for other customers.
|
