Army Adds $105.8 Million to Iowa Ammunition Plant Expansion, Bringing 155mm Complex Total to $741 Million
The U.S. Army is putting another $105.8 million into artillery production at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, adding to MSM Group North America's contract for a new 155mm shell loading complex. The modification, announced by the U.S. Department of War, raises the total value of the contract to $741 million and keeps completion of what the Army calls the Future Artillery Complex on schedule for August 10, 2029. The latest modification obligates $42.9 million in fiscal 2025 ammunition procurement funds, and Army Contracting Command at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is managing the work.
The Army broke ground on the new plant on July 15, 2026. It will replace the Iowa plant's World War II-era M795 production line, which the Army says is nearing the end of its service life. The Army says the plant is designed to scale output for wartime surges and to drop back to a lower sustaining rate in peacetime without becoming uneconomical to run.
The contract is one piece of a broader push by the Pentagon to move the U.S. defense industry toward wartime production levels. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth laid out the policy in a November 7, 2025, speech at the National War College, in which he compared the current period to the eve of World War II and said the department would rebuild the defense industrial base for wartime expansion. Combat with Iran this year has since drawn down U.S. stocks of advanced munitions, particularly air defense interceptors. On August 5, Deputy Secretary of War Steve Feinberg gave defense companies 21 days to submit plans to expand production.
Output figures show the expansion is advancing but has not yet reached its target. A July 9, 2026, report by the Department of War Inspector General found that monthly 155mm production had risen from 14,000 to 36,000 rounds by March 2026, and output of projectile metal parts from 14,000 to 46,000. The service missed its October 1, 2025, deadline for that rate. The Army plans to reach 140,000 rounds a month of load-assemble-pack capacity by December 2027, well above the 100,000-round goal.
The Iowa Army Ammunition Plant has loaded munitions since 1941. The Army says the new complex will make the plant a key link in the supply chain for U.S. artillery ammunition once it is complete.
Source: U.S. Department of War
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国战争部（五角大楼）（GSM 固定图库）。The Pentagon. (GSM asset library)
