DoD Sustainable Products Center

The BioPreferred Program, with input from the U.S. Army Armaments Center, established a minimum biobased content of 32 percent for firearm cleaners, lubricants, and protectants.

Before these biobased products are utilized by the Military Departments and DoD Components, their performance must be proven to meet DoD requirements. The biobased CLP products participating in this demonstration meet the requirements of MIL-PRF-63460G, Cleaner, Lubricant, and Preservative (CLP) for Weapons and Weapons Systems. Demonstrated products must be on the applicable Qualified Products List for MIL-PRF-63460G.

Note: The demonstration began while MIL-PRF-63460F was still in effect, which specified two Types of CLP Products: Type A, Traditional, (i.e., non-biobased) and Type B, Biobased. Demonstrated products at that time were on the applicable Qualified Products List for MIL-PRF-63460F under Type B. In November 2023, the U.S. Army Armaments Center issued Revision G of the specification, requiring all qualified products to contain a minimum 33 percent biobased content.

Demonstration Products*

The following biobased products are currently being demonstrated:

• G96 Synthetic Bio-CLP by G96 Products Inc
• NYCOLUBE 127 CLP Bio by NYCO
• Spartamax Bio CLP by Spartamax Defense
• Radcolube Biobased CLP by Radco Industries

*Mention of or referral to commercial products, services, and manufacturers herein is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute endorsement by, nor the official policy or position of, the Department of Defense (DoD), any of its Components, or the U.S. Government.

Demonstration Sites

Field demonstrations of biobased CLP products have been performed at the following DoD installations and co-located federal facilities to evaluate their performance in Military operational environments and to raise awareness of biobased product availability:

• Fort Jackson
• Fort Moore
• Fort Irwin
• Anniston Army Depot (ANAD)
• Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM)
• Edwards Air Force Base
• Marine Corps Systems Command
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) White Sands Test Facility
• NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center
• United States Air Force (USAF) Aerospace Data Facility Southwest (ADF-SW)
• Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) Twentynine Palms

In addition, based on the performance of the biobased CLP at the demonstration sites above, demonstrations of the biobased CLP are being initiated at the following additional demonstration sites.

• Scout Sniper Instructional School – Weapons Training Battalion (WTB), Marine Corps Base (MCB) Quantico
• Precision Weapons Section (PWS) – WTB, MCB Quantico
• USMC School of Infantry (SOI) East, MCB Camp Lejeune
• USMC SOI West, MCB Camp Pendleton
• Weapons Test Facility, Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane

Demonstration Details

A biobased CLP demonstration plan was developed to outline the demonstration activities to be performed, identify site performance requirements and the key performance criteria, as well as select the products to be evaluated. Military and civilian personnel at DoD installations and Federal agencies are provided a supply of the products for the demonstration period and asked to provide feedback on the product performance. Table 1 contains the key performance criteria that the stakeholders established to evaluate and validate that the biobased CLP product met the participants’ requirements. The biobased RBC demonstration is currently being expanded to the demonstration sites listed above.

Table 1: Demonstration Performance Criteria

Criteria	Parameters
Cleaning Efficiency	Weapon cleaning time Carbon residue and contaminant on weapon after CLP use Quantity of CLP used per application Expendable cleaning materials usage
Weapon Performance	Weapon performance
Wear Prevention	Wear prevention
Corrosion Prevention	Corrosion prevention
Ease of Use	CLP ease of use, including odor, eye irritation, respiratory irritation, and skin irritation, change in weapon smoke emission, and change in cleaning effort

Demonstration Results

Feedback and results from participating demonstration sites indicate that the biobased CLP product met or exceeded the identified key performance criteria as follows:

• The biobased CLP products showed a substantial reduction in weapon cleaning time compared to the baseline non-biobased CLP products. All demonstration sites that provided feedback reported that weapon cleaning time was reduced. An average 50% decrease per site was reported for those demonstration sites providing percent decrease information.
• The level of carbon/firing residue buildup during weapon use after the application of the biobased CLP was comparable or less than with the baseline non-biobased CLP products. In most applications, the buildup of carbon/firing residue was reduced.
• The quantity of biobased CLP used during application was substantially less than with the baseline CLP products. An average 52.5% less CLP used per application was reported for those demonstration sites providing percent decrease information.
• The quantity of expendable cleaning materials used during a cleaning application with the biobased CLP was comparable or less than with the baseline CLP products. Most demonstration sites reported that the quantity of expendable cleaning materials was reduced.
• Weapon performance using the biobased CLP was comparable or better than with the baseline CLP. All demonstration sites that provided feedback, except one, reported that that weapon performance was better when using the biobased CLP.
• Weapon component wear using the biobased CLP was comparable to the baseline CLP. There were no reported issues with weapon component wear using the biobased CLP.
• Corrosion of weapon components using the biobased CLP was comparable to the baseline CLP. There were no reported issues with weapon component corrosion using the biobased CLP.
• The biobased CLP ease of use was comparable or better than the baseline CLP. There were no reported issues with biobased CLP ease of use. Common feedback relating to better ease of use included less odor, less skin and eye irritation, and less smoke from weapon use.
• A cost analysis determined the biobased CLP products are more cost effective due to their increased cleaning and lubricating effectiveness, which results in less product being needed and used for cleaning and lubrication.

Demonstration results will be updated with information from the additional demonstration sites listed above when available.

At the request of the U.S. Army Armaments Center, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) established the following National Stock Numbers (NSNs) for biobased CLP products on the Qualified Products List (QPL):

Demonstration Product National Stock Numbers

NSN / Container Size
9150-01-663-4635 / 0.5 ounce bottle
9150-01-663-3879 / 4 ounce bottle
9150-01-663-4643 / 1 pint bottle with sprayer
9150-01-663-4623 / 1 liter bottle with sprayer
9150-01-663-4610 / 1 gallon bottle