WASHINGTON — The Navy has begun the process of acquiring new flatcars to replace those currently used to transport missiles between military facilities.
In a request for information issued last month, with responses due today, the Navy is seeking to replace the current DODX 40000 series flatcars, designed and built for the Army in 1981 but due for retirement in 2031. Those cars, with three-axle, six-wheel trucks, are now considered obsolete and the Association of American Railroads will not grant an extension for their continued use.
The cars will be a “specialized platform specifically engineered for transporting Active Inert Missles,” the RFI says, with a new design “essential due to the unique requirement of these missiles.”
Defense News reports the missiles involved are dummy rockets used to practice tasks such as loading missile tubes. The RFI does not specify details of the new cars, such as capacity, but they will be used to replace 68-foot flatcars capable of carrying loads up to 140 tons, designed by the Army to carry two M1 Abrams tanks.
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This is a major national security issue. Not only do those cars haul missiles they also haul tanks. So it is very important that they get those replaced.