DoD Sustainable Products Center

“Products that are designed to care for firearms by cleaning, lubricating, protecting, or any combination thereof. Examples include products that are designed for use in firearms to reduce the friction and wear between the moving parts of a firearm, to keep the weapon clean, and/or to prevent the formation of deposits that could cause the weapon to jam.”

The BioPreferred Program 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 RBC products participating in this demonstration meet the requirements of MIL-PRF-372F, Cleaning Compound, Solvent (For Bore of Weapons).  MIL-PRF-372F specifies two Types of RBC Products: Type A, Traditional, (i.e., non-biobased) and Type B, Biobased.  Demonstrated products must be on the applicable Qualified Products List for MIL-PRF-372F under Type B.

Demonstration Products*

The following biobased product is currently being demonstrated (there is currently only one biobased RBC qualified to MIL-PRF-372F Type B):

• Spartamax 372F BioRBC by Spartamax Defense, Inc

*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

• U.S. Army Tank Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) Fleet Management Expansion (FMX) Crescenz Consolidated Equipment Pool (CCEP) – Fort Moore.
• USMC Shooting Team – Weapons Training Battalion (WTB) – Marine Corps Base (MCB) Quantico.
• USMC Combat Marksmanship Training Course – WTB – MCB Quantico.
• Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane – Special Operations Forces (SOF) Weapons Branch – Weapons Test Facility.

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

• Scout Sniper Instructional School – WTB, MCB Quantico
• Precision Weapons Section (PWS) – WTB, MCB Quantico
• USMC School of Infantry (SOI) East, MCB Camp Lejeune
• USMC SOI West, MCB Camp Pendleton

Demonstration Details

A biobased RBC 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. Demonstration sites were provided a supply of the biobased RBC in their operations and asked to provide feedback on the product performance. Table 1 contains the key performance criteria that the DoD stakeholders established to evaluate and validate that the biobased RBC 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 Copper fouling and firing residue on weapons after RBC use Quantity of biobased RBC product used Quantity of cleaning materials used
Weapon Performance	Weapon performance
Ease of Use	Odor Eye, respiratory and skin irritation Cleaning effort

Demonstration Results

Results to date from participating demonstration sites indicate that the biobased RBC product met or exceeded the identified key performance criteria as follows:

• The biobased RBC product showed a reduction in weapon cleaning time compared to the baseline non-biobased RBC products. Many evaluators at the demonstration sites provided feedback that weapon cleaning time was reduced. An average 27.5% decrease per site was reported for those demonstration sites providing percent decrease information.
• The biobased RBC product showed comparable or better copper fouling/firing residue buildup removal performance compared to the baseline non-biobased RBC product.
• The quantity of biobased RBC used during application was typically less than with the baseline RBC products. An average 27.5% less RBC 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 RBC was comparable or less than with the baseline RBC products. Most demonstration sites reported that the quantity of expendable cleaning materials was reduced.
• Weapon performance using the biobased RBC was comparable or better than with the baseline RBC.
• The biobased RBC ease of use was comparable or better than the baseline RBC. There were no reported issues with biobased RBC ease of use.
• Cost analysis determined that overall, the biobased RBC products are cost effective in purchase price and even more cost competitive when examined on a usage basis. Increased DoD demand for the biobased RBC products will make them more cost competitive with non-biobased RBCs.

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 RBC products on the Qualified Products List (QPL):

Demonstration Product National Stock Numbers

NSN / Container Size
6850-01-696-6959 / 2 ounce bottle
6850-01-696-6963 / 8 ounce bottle
6850-01-696-6969 / 1 quart bottle
6850-01-696-6970 / 1 gallon bottle
6850-01-696-6976 / 5 gallon bottle
6850-01-696-6977 / 55 gallon drum