Small Caliber Ammunition status

The following announcement provides an update to the current status of the Army's Small Caliber Green Ammunition Program and a synopsis of plans for follow-on efforts. This notice is to inform interested small caliber ammunition producers on the status of the Army's Small Caliber Green Ammunition program. The initiative consists of a two phase evaluation of commercial 5.56mm green ammo alternatives. The intent is to select an optimum green 5.56mm cartridge that meets performance requirements and is affordable. The Army and Alliant Techsystems (ATK) have completed the Green Ammunition Phase I evaluation. The evaluation was highly successful in terms of the following: Establishing the root causes of the field failures (tumbling - excessive yaw) Development of manufacturing process changes to eliminate/reduce these occurrences Identification of several potential alternative candidate materials with properties more closely associated with those of lead that could be substituted without a major redesign effort. In Phase I, system cost was identified as a major shortcoming. Currently 5.56mm Green ammunition alternatives were in excess of standard lead based ammunition. With the tremendous growth in ammunition requirements on the order of 400 percent on average, it became necessary to examine the affordability of the current design. With the advent of the cost premium and significant requirements growth the Project Manager - Maneuver Ammunition Systems decided to re-direct the program to investigate a total cartridge solution. This will allow for a full range of design solutions to be considered. The original program goals were limited to providing a solution that would be as identical to the M855 5.56mm service round as possible with green materials. This limited the alternatives offered by industry. The Program Manager is now seeking a best value solution that lessens environmental impact while being cost effective and performs at least as well or better than the current M855 cartridge. This will be the main objective in Phase II. This investigation will be headed jointly by the Army and Alliant Techsystems which operates Lake City Army Ammunition Plant for the Army. All efforts will be closely tied to ATK/Lake City Army Ammunition Plant to ensure high rate sustained producibility. The Government and ATK are in the detailed program planning effort for Phase II of the Small Caliber Green Ammunition Program. The Government will host an industry day tentatively planned for April 7, 2005 in the Picatinny Arsenal geographic area. Letters detailing the Phase I results will be sent to the participants detailing how their material performed. At the industry conference the Government and ATK will provide: A review of the Phase I efforts and provide time for individual feedback to participants of their Phase I submittal. An overview of the program plan for Phase II of Small Caliber Green Ammunition Program and how industry can participate. Further Information regarding the Industry Day Conference and this program will be posted at http://procnet.pica.army.mil. Any questions may be directed to either: Frank Hanzl, PM-MAS, +1 (555) 000-0000, contact@example.gov