Abstract: A solid weld-metal-producing material is formed by agglomerating weld metal material powder. An igniter may be integrally formed in or on the agglomerated weld metal material. In addition to typical components of a weld metal material mixture, such as a reductant metal and a transition metal oxide, the agglomerated weld metal mixture may include a binder material, such as sodium silicate. In addition to functioning as a binder to help hold the agglomerated weld metal material together, the binder material may aid in the exothermic reaction that occurs when the weld metal material is ignited. The agglomerated weld metal material may be made by mixing together a reductant metal powder, a transition metal oxide powder, and possibly a binder solution. A slurry of the components may be pressed together, for example, using a die and a ram, and then may be dried.

Abstract: An armament system for use with a plurality of different types of stores, and comprising a central unit and a plurality of distributed stations. The central unit holds a plurality of store specific application programs, and each of the plurality of store types is associated with one of the store specific application programs. Moreover, each of the store specific application programs is adapted to control the transmission of data between a store of an associated type and one of the distributed stations. The central unit is adapted to control the operation of the armament system and the transmission of data between the central unit and the distributed stations, and to transmit any of the store specific application programs to any of the distributed stations of the armament system.