US Army Commits $4.17B to Modernize Seven Ammunition Plants by 2031
The US Army Contracting Command in Rock Island, Illinois has awarded 11 companies a five-year, $4.17 billion framework contract to modernize seven government-owned ammunition plants. The agreement runs through November 2031 and will be executed project-by-project through individual task orders.
Which plants are covered
The program covers seven facilities: Holston in Tennessee and Radford in Virginia, both producing explosives and propellants; Lake City in Missouri, the Army’s main small-caliber ammunition producer; Iowa, which loads and assembles medium- and large-caliber rounds; Scranton in Pennsylvania, which makes artillery ammunition components; Quad City in Illinois, which produces large-caliber cartridge cases; and Milan in Tennessee.
Most of these government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) plants date back to World War II or the early Cold War, so the scope goes beyond production-line automation to new facility construction and core infrastructure maintenance.
Where the capacity gap comes from
A Pentagon Inspector General report found that 155mm projectile output stood at 36,000 rounds per month as of March 2026, well short of the 100,000-round target set for October 2025. The report identified projectile-body production as the main bottleneck, noting that a contractor-operated facility in Mesquite, Texas, could not manufacture metal components meeting Army specifications.
The Army now aims to reach 140,000 rounds per month by December 2027, a target that depends on modernizing the Iowa plant and building two new facilities in Kansas and Arkansas.
Who won the contract
The eleven awardees include major construction and engineering firms: Clark Construction Group, Burns & McDonnell, Hensel Phelps, Alberici Constructors, MC Dean, J Kokolakis Contracting, Bering-Weston JV, Applied Research Associates and Parsons Government Services.
Two companies that already operate or build ammunition plants also made the list: BAE Systems Ordnance Systems and MSM North America, the US subsidiary of the Czechoslovak Group (CSG). MSM North America is already executing a separate, up-to-$635 million contract to build the Future Artillery Complex in Iowa, expected to begin operations in 2029 and add capacity for up to 36,000 155mm rounds per month.
MSM North America CEO Jason Gaines said being selected “represents an important step” in the company’s long-term effort to become a trusted US Army partner, adding that the firm is building on its experience with the Future Artillery Complex.
What the figure actually means
The framework contract itself is not a direct funding commitment — the real investment level will be set later through individual task orders. Even so, it marks a concrete step in the Army’s broader plan to rebuild its ammunition industrial base.
The program’s scale underscores that great-power ammunition competition is no longer just about frontline deliveries but about the factory infrastructure itself. Measured against Russia’s wartime production surge and comparable European capacity expansions, the Army’s 2027 target still looks ambitious, making the pace of future task orders worth watching closely.
Sources
- The Defense Post, “US Army Awards 11 Firms $4.17B Contract to Modernize Ammo Plants”, November 10, 2026, thedefensepost.com — used for contract details, facility list and awardee names.
- EDR Magazine, “CSG secures U.S. Army framework contract for ammunition plant modernization under $4.2 Billion program”, edrmagazine.eu — used for MSM North America/CSG executive statements.
- AUSA, “Modernizing Ammunition Plants Will Take 15 Years”, ausa.org — used for capacity targets and 155mm production context.
