The Army has picked the builders who will compete to rebuild its government-owned ammunition plants over the next five years, and it turned no one away: all 11 firms that bid made the cut. The Department of War's Nov. 5 contract announcement lists the 11 companies that "will compete for each order of the $4,171,491,000 firm-fixed-price contract for government-owned, contractor-operated Army ammunition plant design, build, and commissioning." Army Contracting Command at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, runs the vehicle, and the announcement sets an estimated completion date of Nov. 4, 2031.
The award gives the Army a ready bench of design-build contractors for the organic industrial base, the network of government-owned plants that produce explosives, propellants, cartridge cases and finished rounds. It does not, on its own, put any money on a job site. The announcement is explicit: "Work locations and funding will be determined with each order." Every project still has to be won in a separate competition.
Who Holds a Seat on the $4.17B GOCO Vehicle
The awardee list mixes large general contractors, engineering firms, defense manufacturers and a newcomer with European backing. Each holds its own contract number under the W519TC-27-D series:
- Clark Construction Group LLC, Bethesda, Maryland (W519TC-27-D-A005)
- J Kokolakis Contracting Inc., Tarpon Springs, Florida (W519TC-27-D-A007)
- M.C. Dean Inc., Tysons, Virginia (W519TC-27-D-A008)
- Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co. Inc., Kansas City, Missouri (W519TC-27-D-A009)
- Parsons Government Services Inc., Centreville, Virginia (W519TC-27-D-A010)
- Bering-Weston JV LLC, Anchorage, Alaska (W519TC-27-D-A011)
- Hensel Phelps Construction Co., Greeley, Colorado (W519TC-27-D-A012)
- Alberici Constructors Inc., St. Louis, Missouri (W519TC-27-D-A013)
- BAE Systems Ordnance Systems Inc., Kingsport, Tennessee (W519TC-27-D-A014)
- MSM Group North America Inc., St. Petersburg, Florida (W519TC-27-D-A015)
- Applied Research Associates Inc., Albuquerque, New Mexico (W519TC-27-D-A016)
The announcement reads: "Bids were solicited via the internet with eleven received." Eleven offers in, eleven awards out means the Army used the source selection to qualify a pool rather than to narrow one. That choice moves the real competition downstream, to the task-order level, where each project will be priced and evaluated on its own terms.
BAE Systems Ordnance Systems, based in Kingsport, Tennessee, is the one awardee whose name signals ammunition operations rather than construction. Construction-heavy firms such as Clark, Hensel Phelps, Alberici and Burns & McDonnell are better known for large industrial builds, while M.C. Dean and Parsons are better known for electrical, systems and engineering work that process plants require.
Which Seven Ammunition Plants the MATOC Covers
The Army's announcement does not name specific installations. One awardee does. In a release distributed through GlobeNewswire, CSG subsidiary MSM North America described the vehicle as a "five-year MATOC framework" with "a total ceiling of $4.2 billion, with individual projects to be competed among selected contractors." The company said the program spans seven Army facilities:
- Holston Army Ammunition Plant, Tennessee, which specializes in military explosives
- Radford Army Ammunition Plant, Virginia, a major producer of propellants and other energetic materials
- Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, Missouri, a production center for small-caliber ammunition
- Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, which loads and assembles medium- and large-caliber ammunition
- Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, Pennsylvania, which makes metal components for artillery ammunition
- Quad City Cartridge Case Facility, Illinois, which produces large-caliber cartridge cases
- Milan Army Ammunition Plant, Tennessee
Those sites cover the full production chain, from energetic materials through metal parts to final load, assemble and pack. A design-build vehicle that reaches all of them lets the Army issue projects at whichever choke point it decides to attack first without running a new full-and-open procurement each time.
The release also makes clear what the award does not promise. "The program's total ceiling of approximately $4.2 billion applies collectively to all selected contractors," the company wrote, adding that selection "does not guarantee a specific volume of business." The Army figure is the precise one: $4,171,491,000 shared across all 11 holders.
How MSM North America's Iowa Artillery Work Shapes Its Pitch
MSM North America is the youngest firm on the list. CSG established it in 2024 to build a presence in the U.S. ammunition industry, and it operates from St. Petersburg, Florida, under chief executive Jason Gaines.
The company already has a large Army project underway. In August 2025 it secured a contract worth up to $635 million to design, construct and commission the Future Artillery Complex at Iowa Army Ammunition Plant. According to the release, construction began in 2026, the plant will be able to load up to 36,000 rounds of 155 mm artillery ammunition per month, and it is expected to become operational in 2029.
Gaines framed the new award as an extension of that work. "Being selected as one of the contractors under this program represents an important step in our long-term efforts to become a trusted partner of the U.S. Army in modernizing its ammunition industrial base," he said. He added that the company is "well positioned to compete for additional projects that will help strengthen and modernize U.S. ammunition production capacity."
Jan Marinov, CEO of CSG's Defence Systems Division, pointed to the parent company's manufacturing background, saying its vertical integration gives it "expertise across the entire production chain, from energetic materials to finished products."
What It Means for Contractors
For the 11 holders, the work starts now. A multiple-award vehicle where, in CSG's words, selection carries no guaranteed volume rewards firms that track the Army's plant-by-plant priorities and price each order sharply. With every bidder admitted, holders should expect crowded task-order competitions, especially on smaller projects that several general contractors can execute.
For firms that did not bid, the prime pool is closed, but the subcontract market may be open. Process engineering, energetic-materials handling, explosives-safety design, specialty mechanical and electrical trades, and commissioning support are the kinds of work primes on a plant-modernization program typically need. Subcontractors with plant experience can approach multiple primes, since each order is a fresh competition.
Watch the order flow. The announcement identifies no specific funded project, so the first task orders will show which plants and which stages of production the Army treats as most urgent. Contractors should also note the announced estimated completion date of Nov. 4, 2031, the outer date for the vehicle.
