US Army Picks 11 Firms for $4.17 Billion Push to Modernize Its Ammunition Plants

The US Army has awarded a five-year, $4.17 billion multiple-award contract to 11 companies to modernize seven government-owned ammunition plants. The framework runs through November 2031 and was awarded by Army Contracting Command in Rock Island, Illinois.

The work covers new facility construction, production-line upgrades, automation, technology integration and infrastructure maintenance. Individual task orders will decide where the money goes and how much, and the announcement did not say which projects come first.

The seven government-owned plants and the 155 mm output goal. Militrax graphic.

The seven plants

The program covers Holston in Tennessee and Radford in Virginia, which make explosives and propellants; Lake City in Missouri, a major small-caliber ammunition producer; the Iowa plant, which loads and assembles medium- and large-caliber rounds; Scranton in Pennsylvania, which makes artillery shell components; Quad City in Illinois, which makes large-caliber cartridge cases; and Milan in Tennessee.

Who won

The 11 companies are Clark Construction Group, Burns & McDonnell, Hensel Phelps, Alberici Constructors, MC Dean, J Kokolakis Contracting, the Bering-Weston joint venture, Applied Research Associates, Parsons Government Services, BAE Systems Ordnance Systems and MSM North America. BAE and MSM already operate or are building Army ammunition plants.

MSM North America is the US arm of the Czechoslovak Group (CSG). It is already building the Army's Future Artillery Complex in Iowa under a contract worth up to $635 million, which is expected to start operating in 2029 and add capacity for up to 36,000 155 mm rounds a month. Chief executive Jason Gaines called the selection an important step for the company.

155 mm shell bodies on the line at Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, Pennsylvania. File photo, Office of the President of Ukraine (CC0).

The 155 mm gap

The contract comes as the Army struggles to hit its artillery targets. A Defense Department Inspector General report found monthly 155 mm output was 36,000 rounds in March 2026, against a goal of 100,000 by October 2025. Projectile production was the main bottleneck, after a contractor-run facility in Mesquite, Texas, could not make metal parts that met Army specifications.

The current plan is to reach 140,000 rounds a month by December 2027. That depends on modernizing the existing Iowa plant and building two new facilities, in Kansas and Arkansas.