US to expand ammunition factories: Could Ukraine benefit?
Photo: The Pentagon (Wikipedia)
The US Army has awarded a contract worth up to $4.17 billion for the design, construction, and commissioning of new facilities at government-owned ammunition plants. Eleven companies will carry out the work, competing for individual orders through November 2031, according to the US Department of War.
What is known about the contract and who will carry it out
The contract is a firm-fixed-price agreement worth $4.171 billion. It covers the design, construction, and commissioning of facilities at government-owned ammunition plants operated by private companies. Its purpose is to support the modernization of the US Army's organic industrial base, as well as the operation and maintenance of the plants. The estimated completion date is November 4, 2031.
The tender was conducted online, and the Army received 11 bids. All participants were awarded the contract: Clark Construction Group, Burns & McDonnell, Hensel Phelps, Alberici Constructors, Parsons Government Services, M.C. Dean, J Kokolakis Contracting, Bering-Weston JV, Applied Research Associates, as well as BAE Systems Ordnance Systems of Kingsport, Tennessee, and MSM Group North America of St. Petersburg, Florida. The companies will compete for each individual order.
Work locations and funding will be determined separately for each order. The contracting agency is the Army Contracting Command in Rock Island, Illinois. The announcement does not specify how much funding has already been obligated or which projects will begin first.
The contract covers GOCO (Government-Owned, Contractor-Operated) plants: the Army owns the land, buildings, and equipment, while a private contractor manages production. These include the Holston and Radford plants (explosives and propellants), Iowa (artillery ammunition loading), Lake City (small-arms ammunition), and Scranton (artillery shell bodies). The publication also notes that many of these facilities have been operating since World War II.
The Army announced the competition in May 2026, and the deadline for submitting proposals was July 6. The contract is a Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC). This is a pool of preselected contractors with a maximum contract value, among whom the Army competitively awards individual projects. This approach is generally faster than conducting a full procurement process for each facility.
The US Department of War announcement does not mention the supply of ammunition to Ukraine or other countries: the contract concerns the modernization of production facilities at US plants.
RBC-Ukraine has previously covered efforts to expand weapons production in the United States. In late October, the US State Department approved a possible sale to Ukraine of 500 PAC-3 missiles for Patriot systems and related equipment, with an estimated value of $2.1 billion, the department's press service reported.
