US Army breaks ground on new 6.8 mm ammunition factory

A computer-generated image of the US Army's new 6.8 mm ammunition production facility being built at Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Missouri. (US Army)

The US Army's Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition (JPEO A&A) and Joint Munitions Command formally broke ground on a new 6.8 mm ammunition production facility at Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Missouri on 5 February, according to a service statement.

The facility will support the Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) programme with a family of ammunition “engineered to maximise the performance of the XM7 rifle and XM250 automatic rifle”, the statement said. The 6.8 mm rounds are designed to deliver “increased range, improved accuracy, and enhanced lethality” when fired from those weapons, the army said. The 6.8 mm family of ammunition is a key army modernisation priority, the statement noted. The round is expected to outperform “modern 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm ammunition”, according to a Program Executive Office Soldier website.

The army's 6.8 mm ammunition needs are currently “being met through an interim production capability that leverages existing facilities and equipment at Lake City Army Ammunition Plant along with support from SIG Sauer's commercial facility in Arkansas”, Major General John Reim, Joint Program Executive Officer Armaments and Ammunition, told Janes on 10 February.

The groundbreaking follows an 18-month design process led by JPEO A&A, the statement said. The 450,000 sq ft (41,806 m ²