Naval Facilities Engineering Command's Engineering Service Center (NAVFAC ESC) was tasked by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to develop the Composite Joint Assault Bridge (CJAB), which will replace the aging metallic Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge (AVLB) currently in use by the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army.
"This bridge is a much needed replacement for the metallic vehicle launched bridge now deployed with our Armed Forces," said Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center Commanding Officer, Capt. Gregory J. Zielinski. "It reflects the latest technologies in portable bridging equipment, costing less to maintain and offering greater span, larger load capacity, easier transport and rapid deployment. This is a significant upgrade for our warfighters."
Existing bridges, developed in the early 1970s during the Vietnam War, are ill-suited to handle the greater weight of modern up-armored tanks and other essential mobile military resources. The new bridge will easily support the Army's main battle tank, the M-1 Abrams, and its auxiliary equipment.
The CJAB will utilize vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) technology, which is a fabrication technology that draws resin under vacuum through a carbon fiber matrix reinforcement to form new bridge deck, ramp, and beam sections. Composite construction will enable the CJAB to greatly expand the Marine Air Ground Task Force's assault bridging capabilities.
The bridge weight will be reduced from 15 tons to 13 tons, and modifications to the launching system will reduce the bridge launching time from 3 minutes to about 2 minutes. The modifications also allow the expeditious recovery of the bridge without exposing personnel to hostile fire.
Additionally, the new CJAB will increase the bridge span from 59 feet (18 meters) to 78 feet (24 meters), and increase the load carrying capacity from 60 tons to as much as 85 tons.
Darrell Waller (NNS)
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