ARA Now Operating Explosives Test Site in New Mexico

Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) is now operating an explosives test site in Moriarty, New Mexico, 45 minutes away from the Albuquerque International Sunport.

The DoD- and ATF-approved explosive test site is contractor owned and operated. ARA’s experienced explosive test team has completed more than 3,000 detonations in 40 years and specializes in commercial and military explosives, including explosive design, acquisition, storage, transportation, predictions, modeling, and testing.

“Explosive testing and modeling has historically been at the heart of what ARA does,” said Professional Engineer Geoffrey Aiken, with ARA’s Test Technology Division. “Our new explosive testing site continues to build on that experience with the latest test technology at a low cost to our customers, while furthering our mission to improve our safety, security, and way of life.”

ARA’s new site offers top-notch safety support, year-round operations, onsite equipment and explosives storage, an onsite instrumentation suite, a broad range of onsite fabrication options, and a variety of rock masses and types.

The secure site features advanced technology including high-speed camera options, drone photography, 3-D imaging, lidar and photogrammetry, high-speed data acquisition, a broad range of instrumentation and post-test evaluation equipment, high-speed internet.

These features come at a low cost per test, with above ground and buried charges of up to 100 pounds of explosives possible.

ARA has experience in the accurate timing and placement of explosives to simulate terrorist attack scenarios including IEDs, explosively-formed projectiles, and a broad range of high-explosive phenomenology experiments at multiple scales.

Services also include sensor technology development, CBRNE detections, testing, and analysis, advanced energetics testing, counter WMD testing, and more.

ARA offers robust explosive team support and modeling. All 45 members of the explosives test team have security clearances, including 21 engineers and scientists, several with Top Secret SCI clearances.

The highly-qualified explosives team includes professional engineers, instrumentation engineers, explosives engineers, video and technical editors, welders, electricians, carpenters, and heavy equipment operators.

Amenities in Moriarty include abundant low-cost hotel options, restaurants, gas stations, and other services.

Contact
Geoffrey Aiken
505-846-0487
gaiken@ara.com

About ARA

Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) was founded in 1979, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to offer science and engineering research to solve problems of national importance. ARA delivers leading-edge products and innovative solutions for national defense, energy, homeland security, aerospace, healthcare, transportation, and manufacturing. With over 2,000 employee-owners at locations in the U.S. and Canada, ARA offers a broad range of technical expertise in defense technologies, civil engineering, computer software and simulation, systems analysis, biomedical engineering, environmental technologies, and blast testing and measurement.

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