INDEPENDENCE, Missouri – The U.S. Army’s Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition, along with the Joint Munitions Command, officially broke ground on a new 6.8 mm ammunition production facility in support of the Next Generation Squad Weapon Program at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant on Wednesday, Feb. 5. The 6.8 mm family of ammunition, set to be produced at the new facility, will play a vital role in advancing the Army’s modernization priorities.
Developed collaboratively by the JPEO A&A, the U.S. Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Armaments Center, and the Army Research Laboratory, the 6.8 mm family of ammunition is specifically engineered to maximize the performance of the XM7 Rifle and the XM250 Automatic Rifle. When fired through these Next Generation Squad Weapons, 6.8 mm rounds deliver increased range, improved accuracy, and enhanced lethality, ensuring Soldiers maintain overmatch on the battlefield.
“It is not lost on me that victory on the battlefield begins in our production facilities,” said Maj. Gen. John T. Reim, 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.”
The cutting-edge facility, which will be operated by Olin Winchester, is the culmination of an 18-month design process led by JPEO A&A with support from a diverse team of U.S. government and commercial contractors.
Spanning 450,000 square feet, the facility will feature modern manufacturing systems capable of producing all components of 6.8 mm ammunition. This includes cartridge case and projectile manufacturing, energetic operations for loading and charging ammunition, product packaging, process quality controls, testing laboratories, maintenance operations and administrative areas.
With 90% of the work supported by industries in the Kansas City region and nearly 50 local businesses involved in the construction, the new facility will strengthen the defense industrial base, create well-paying jobs, and will drive economic growth in the local community.
Once operational, the facility will have an annual production capacity of 385 million cases, 490 million projectiles and 385 million load-assemble-pack operations for 6.8 mm ammunition. This enhanced capacity will significantly bolster U.S. munitions production, ensuring the Army maintains its readiness and ability to serve as a credible deterrent to would-be adversaries.
JPEO A&A and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Command Armaments Center are headquartered at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. Together, they play a critical role in developing, procuring and fielding cutting-edge armaments and ammunition, ensuring the readiness and modernization of the U.S. Army and its international partners.
By U.S. Army Public Affairs
Now make 2 more. One in the East and one In the West. Since this will be our new small arms ammunition standard we need several factories well spread out.
But it won’t be the new small arms ammunition standard.
The US Army is only ordering 120,000 weapons that fire 6.8×51.
The standard ammunition for the US Armed Forces will remain 5.56×45.
All small arms ammunition is manufactured at Lake City.
Why would they possibly need to build multiple factories across the country to supply 120,000 weapons?
Prediction: all M240 and M249 beltfeds in US Army become M250 variants.
Hey SSD!
Has there been any more info on the platoon weapons study that the Army did the other year?
I know there were multiple variables…like the .338 mg, a 6.8 common M240 conversion, and the idea of replacing the M240 with the M250 as well.
Also, to your knowledge, is has Sig made any M250 variants with a true carry handle/quick change barrel mechanism?
No…much to everyone’s chagrin. All I get is “Senior Army leaders have been briefed.” To me, that’s terrifying. Few, if any of them, know anything about small arms.
As for part two, yes, they have. I have some photos of XM250 variants with longer and shorter barrels than the current configuration, with quick change barrels / handles. I’ll ask if I can share b
IF they develop a variant of the M250 with a quick change barrel I could see that as a possibility.
BUT, I they did opt for a quick change variant to replace the M240 I would not be surprised if they had to openly compete for a new GPMG, and end up selecting a different 6.8 MG.
Then we also have to start considering .338 MMGs. Pretty obviously the weight/cube of the ammo make .338 suboptimal for use in the typical dismounted GPMG role. But should probably be considered in vehicle/aircraft mounted uses.
NGSW did not require a quick change barrel. SIG has shown a variant in the same platform for the past few years. I’ve shared photos.
The Army is getting ready to face DOGE and to be frank, we may well see no new anything for a while as the belt tightening begins. I’m expecting night court to resume.
However, if they want to quickly increase lethality in Close Combat Formations, the easy button is to buy more of what they are already buying.
At this point, I’d say that 338 NM is going to be off the table and that’s after knowing that the Army has been waffling on its interest in an LMMG in 338 NM for the past two years on top of an upcoming tight budget cycle.
The DoD doesn’t have to worry about the DOGE unless its expenditures lead to outright waste [e.g., you don’t hear anyone going after DARPA, and 90% + of what it does doesn’t come off the drawing board, much less see the light of day]. Also, DOGE might be on-fire but it’s still the smallest unit in government right now and it is slated to stay that way. Unfortunately, there is plenty other places for DOGE to shine its spotlight on, and (IMHO) DOGE is too small to deal with them all. I think the Commander in Chief wants the “biggest” “baddest” “greatest” everything FOR, and out-of, our Military, and the DoD has a brand new pool of funds to get those things now, all because of DOGE.