The US Army has awarded 11 companies a five-year, $4.17-billion multiple-award framework contract to compete for projects to modernize seven government-owned ammunition plants.
Running through November 2031, the program covers new facility construction, production-line upgrades, automation, technology integration, and infrastructure maintenance.
The facilities include Holston and Radford Army Ammunition Plants in Tennessee and Virginia, respectively, which produce explosives and propellants; Lake City in Missouri, a major small-caliber ammunition producer; and Iowa, which loads and assembles medium- and large-caliber rounds.
The Scranton facility in Pennsylvania manufactures artillery ammunition components, while the Quad City facility in Illinois produces large-caliber cartridge cases. The program also covers Milan Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee.
The 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.
The remaining two are BAE Systems Ordnance Systems and MSM North America, which operate or are building army ammunition plants.
Individual task orders will determine project locations and funding. The Army Contracting Command in Rock Island, Illinois, awarded the contracts, but the announcement does not specify initial funding commitments or identify which projects will be prioritized.
CSG’s Role
One of the awardees is Czechoslovak Group’s (CSG) US subsidiary, MSM North America, which is already executing a US Army contract worth up to $635 million to build the Future Artillery Complex in Iowa.
The additional framework contract comes as the army works to expand 155mm artillery ammunition production capacity. A US Department of Defense Inspector General report found that monthly output stood at 36,000 rounds in March 2026, well below the target of 100,000 rounds by October 2025.
The report identified projectile production as the main bottleneck, noting that a contractor-operated facility in Mesquite, Texas, was unable to manufacture metal components that met army specifications.
To increase monthly production capacity to 140,000 rounds by December 2027, the service plans to modernize its existing Iowa Army Ammunition Plant and build two new facilities in Kansas and Arkansas.
Separately, MSM North America’s Future Artillery Complex in Iowa is expected to begin operations in 2029, adding capacity for up to 36,000 155mm rounds per month.
“Being selected as one of the contractors under this program represents an important step in our long-term efforts to become a trusted partner of the US Army in modernizing its ammunition industrial base,” MSM North America CEO Jason Gaines said.
“We are building on our experience with the Future Artillery Complex project, where we have demonstrated our ability to manage a complex industrial project in close cooperation with the US Army and our technology partners.”