The U.S. Army has started construction work on an ammunition manufacturing facility at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Missouri.
The military branch said Thursday the new facility will produce 6.8 mm rounds to support the Next Generation Squad Weapon Program and advance the service’s modernization priorities.
“It is not lost on me that victory on the battlefield begins in our production facilities,” said Maj. Gen. John Reim, the Army’s joint program executive officer for armaments and ammunition.
“Lake City has been central to our nation’s ammunition production since 1941, and this new facility builds on that proud and historic legacy,” added Reim.
Ammo Production Facility
The planned 450,000-square-foot facility will be equipped with testing laboratories, process quality controls, cartridge case and projectile manufacturing, maintenance operations and administrative areas, product packaging and other modern manufacturing systems that can produce all components of the 6.8 million ammunition.
About 50 local businesses will participate in the construction of the new facility, which will create jobs, drive economic growth and bolster the defense industrial base.
Olin Winchester will operate the facility, which is expected to produce 490 million projectiles, 385 million cases and 385 million load-assemble-pack operations annually for 6.8 mm rounds.
6.8 MM Family of Ammunition
This family of ammunition is designed to augment the performance of the XM7 Rifle and XM250 Automatic Rifle.
The 6.8 mm rounds could help warfighters maintain readiness and dominance on the battlefield by delivering enhanced lethality, increased range and improved accuracy when fired using Next Generation Squad Weapons systems.
