Kansas City Business Journal - by James Dornbrook, Staff Writer
Alliant Techsystems Inc. received a $488 million order to produce small-caliber ammunition for the U.S. Army.
The order will be produced by ATK Small Caliber Systems at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence. ATK Small Caliber Systems is a division of Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK), an Eden Prairie, Minn., company that has operated the Lake City plant since 2000.
The order includes a mix of 5.56mm, 7.62mm and .50-caliber military ammunition.
“This latest set of orders includes an increase in the demand for the new (5.56mm cartridge) M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round (EPR), which is getting very positive reviews by the warfighter,” Mark Hissong, vice president and general manager of ATK Small Caliber Systems, said in a release. “We’ve produced more than 100 million rounds of the M855A1 EPR since transitioning it into full-rate production last year. We will increase EPR production rates this year as we complete the modernization of high-speed, high-volume 5.56mm production equipment used to manufacture this new high-performance round.”
