SAFEBORE — Gun Barrel Life Cycle Sustainment

What is gun barrel life cycle sustainment?

Gun barrel life cycle sustainment is the managed process of keeping a weapon tube in a known, documented condition across its service life. It combines bore inspection, fouling removal, post-clean verification, dimensional measurement, and a retained record for each individual tube, rather than a single maintenance event performed in isolation.

GBIS is the instrument. SAFEBORE is the program.

GBIS shows bore condition. SAFEBORE establishes it, verifies it, measures it, and keeps the record — the same tube, across its life.

Zistos GBIS

• What it is: a video borescope system.
• What it delivers: high-resolution bore imagery and dimensional measurement.
• Scope: a single inspection.
• Who operates it: your armorer.
• Output: images and measurements.

SAFEBORE

• What it is: a managed sustainment program.
• What it delivers: a verified tube condition and the documented record that proves it.
• Scope: inspect, clean, verify, measure, document — repeated on cadence.
• Who operates it: your unit, Zistos, or both — by program configuration.
• Output: a retained condition record per tube.

Every SAFEBORE engagement is built on GBIS. Not every GBIS customer runs SAFEBORE.

View GBIS systems

The SAFEBORE workflow

1. Inspect. Document baseline bore condition with GBIS high-resolution imaging across the full tube length.
2. Clean. Remove copper, carbon and polymer fouling using chemistry formulated for the tube material and residue type.
3. Verify. Re-inspect the bore after cleaning and confirm complete fouling removal before sign-off.
4. Measure. Take bore dimensional measurements on a chemically clean surface, so wear is read as wear and not as residue.
5. Document. Record condition, measurements and imagery against the individual tube, and retain it for the next cycle.

Measurement on a fouled bore reads residue as wear. SAFEBORE measures after verified cleaning, so condition data reflects the tube.

See the full sustainment process in detail at safebore.zistos.video.

Where SAFEBORE is deployed

• Artillery and howitzer tube maintenance
• Mortar tube sustainment
• Tank and cannon barrel programs
• Medium-caliber autocannon and chain gun fleets
• Depot-level overhaul and return-to-service inspection
• Pre-deployment fleet readiness verification

Caliber band: 25mm – 155mm and larger.

The SAFEBORE Bore Record

Each tube carries its own record. Condition, imagery, measurements and cleaning history accumulate against that serial number across cycles — so the next inspection starts from the last one, not from zero.

• Condition imagery captured at inspection and after verification
• Dimensional measurements taken on a verified clean bore
• Cleaning method and date, recorded per cycle
• Trend across cycles for the individual tube

Data ownership, retention and hosting posture are defined with the customer during the sustainment assessment.

Program delivery

SAFEBORE is configured to how your organization already sustains its fleet.

Unit-Performed

Zistos equips and trains your maintainers. Your personnel execute the workflow and hold the record.

Zistos-Performed

Zistos or an authorized partner executes the workflow at depot or on site, and delivers the record.

Sustainment Program

Scheduled, recurring execution across the fleet, with the record retained across the full life of each tube.

Configuration is determined by fleet size, tube types, and your existing maintenance cycle.

Start a sustainment assessment

A short structured assessment establishes tube types, current practice, and the right SAFEBORE configuration. A Zistos specialist responds within one business day.

U.S. DoD & Federal

Sustainment programs, depot maintenance, and federal acquisition. Start assessment

Allied & International

Allied nation programs and international defense partners. Start assessment

Frequently asked questions

How is SAFEBORE different from a bore inspection system?

A bore inspection system shows condition at a point in time. SAFEBORE establishes condition through cleaning, verifies removal, measures the clean bore, and retains the result against that specific tube. Inspection is one stage of the program, not the whole of it.

What tube diameters does SAFEBORE cover?

SAFEBORE covers tube and barrel diameters from 25mm through 155mm and larger, spanning medium-caliber autocannons and chain guns through mortar tubes, tank and cannon barrels, and artillery systems. Configuration is set during the sustainment assessment based on the tube types in your fleet.

Who performs the work?

Three configurations are available. Your maintainers can execute the workflow after Zistos training, Zistos or an authorized partner can execute it at depot or on site, or the two can be combined across a fleet. The record is produced the same way in each case.

Why does the bore have to be cleaned before it is measured?

Fouling occupies bore volume. A measurement taken on a fouled bore can read residue as dimensional wear. SAFEBORE verifies complete fouling removal before measurement, so the recorded dimension reflects the condition of the tube itself.

Is SAFEBORE available to allied nations?

Yes. SAFEBORE is available to U.S. Department of Defense customers and to allied and partner nation defense organizations. Availability is confirmed during the assessment. Technical documentation is released only after verification of government or defense affiliation.

What documentation does SAFEBORE produce?

Each cycle produces condition imagery from inspection and post-clean verification, dimensional measurements taken on a verified clean bore, and the cleaning method and date — all recorded against the individual tube so condition can be trended across its service life.

Establish tube condition. Keep the record.

Talk to a Zistos sustainment specialist about your fleet, tube types, and current maintenance cycle.

Request a Sustainment Assessment · Request Capability Statement · View GBIS systems

SAFEBORE is offered to government and defense organizations only. Technical documentation and performance data are released after verification of government or defense affiliation.