Ma Deuce, raising demand…

DID has covered the US small caliber ammunition shortage before, as well as a number of the steps the Defense Department has taken to address the issue. The latest step moves General Dynamics into an important second source supply role, and awards GD OTS a substantial contract. Which is a good thing, because the US Army is still buying and using General Dynamics’ excellent M2 .50 caliber heavy machine guns.

General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc. in St. Petersburg, FL received a $171.2 million firm-fixed-price contract for Establishment of the Small Caliber Ammunition Second Source Prime Contractor for the Production of 5.56mm, 7.62mm, and .50 Caliber Ammunition. Work will be performed in St. Petersburg, FL and is expected to be complete by Aug. 23, 2010. Bids were solicited via the World Wide Web on Jan. 18, 2005, and two bids were received. The U.S. Army Field Support Command in Rock Island, IL issued the contract (W52P1J-05-G-0002).

ATK, which acts as the prime source for American small caliber ammunition, originally protested this award but withdrew its protest in late October 2005. The US Army’s overall “1-2-3-4 acquisition strategy” sourcing agreement will work as follows:

• The goal is for production of as much as 2.0 billion rounds of small-caliber ammunition annually.
• The first 1.2 billion rounds of ammunition each year will come from ATK Lake City
• Followed by an additional 300 million rounds from a second source.
• The next 300 million rounds increment each year will again come from ATK Lake City
• If the Army needs an additional 200 million rounds, it will be provided by ATK and/or the second source.

As it happens, General Dynamics also has a contract on the demand-generation front….

General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products Inc. in Burlington, VT received a delivery order amount of $6.6 million as part of a $56.1 million firm-fixed-price contract for M2 .50 cal machine guns. Work will be performed in Saco, ME and is expected to be complete by Jan. 31, 2007. This was a sole source contract initiated on June 23, 1999 by the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command in Rock Island, IL (DAAE20-00-D-0075).

Built since the 1920s, the reliable, powerful, air-cooled .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning Machine Gun (aka. “Ma Deuce”) is still one of the world’s most effective heavy machine guns. It can be carried by a team of soldiers, or mounted on vehicles and aircraft. In November 2005 DID covered its successor, the XM307/312.