The US Army has awarded 11 companies a five-year, $4.17-billion multiple-award framework contract to compete for projects modernising seven government-owned ammunition plants. Running through November 2031, the programme covers new facility construction, production-line upgrades, automation, technology integration and infrastructure maintenance. The facilities include Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee and Radford Army Ammunition Plant in Virginia, which manufacture explosives and propellants; Lake City in Missouri, a major small-calibre ammunition producer; and the Iowa facility, which loads and assembles medium- and large-calibre rounds. The programme also covers the Scranton facility in Pennsylvania, which manufactures artillery ammunition components; Quad City in Illinois, which produces large-calibre cartridge cases; and Milan Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee. The awardees include Clark Construction Group, Burns & McDonnell, Hensel Phelps, Alberici Constructors, MC Dean, J Kokolakis Contracting, Bering-Weston JV, Applied Research Associates and Parsons Government Services. The remaining contractors are BAE Systems Ordnance Systems and MSM North America, both of which operate or are developing Army ammunition facilities. Individual task orders will determine project locations and funding. The Army Contracting Command in Rock Island, Illinois, awarded the framework contracts, but the announcement did not specify initial funding commitments or identify priority projects. One of the selected companies, Czechoslovak Group’s US subsidiary MSM North America, is already executing a US Army contract worth up to $635 million to construct the Future Artillery Complex in Iowa. The new framework comes as the Army seeks to increase 155mm artillery ammunition production. A Department of Defense Inspector General report found that monthly output stood at 36,000 rounds in March 2026, below the target of 100,000 rounds by October 2025. The report identified projectile manufacturing as the main bottleneck and noted that a contractor-operated facility in Mesquite, Texas, had been unable to produce metal components meeting Army specifications. The Army aims to raise monthly production capacity to 140,000 rounds by December 2027 through upgrades to the existing Iowa Army Ammunition Plant and construction of two new facilities in Kansas and Arkansas. Separately, MSM North America’s Future Artillery Complex in Iowa is expected to begin operations in 2029, with capacity to produce up to 36,000 155mm rounds per month.
