Federal Ammunition received a new $13.8 million delivery order based on a contract awarded in 2017 by the U.S. Army. The order is for 5.56 NATO MK311 Frangible Ammunition, better known by ordnance code AA40.
The military-grade training ammunition has a 50-grain frangible bullet composed of a non-toxic copper and tungsten powder matrix core and a gilding metal jacket. It fragments into small pieces on impact, which minimizes over-penetration and ricochet hazard.
“One of the differentiators of AA40 is the use of Federal’s exclusive Catalyst primer,” said Federal Vice President of Law Enforcement, Government and International Sales David Leis. “It’s a lead-free technology that provides the most reliable, consistent ignition possible. Unlike many other lead-free primer formulations, Catalyst primers have unique properties that allow them to be effectively and safely used in service ammunition. Catalyst primers have been used in hundreds of millions of rounds of ammunition delivered to military, law enforcement and commercial customers to-date.”
The announcement from Federal reflects a second sizable new order based on the original June 29, 2017, agreement. In October of last year, the U.S. military procured the same specialty ammunition in a purchase valued at $12.9 million.
“We have a long history of providing high-quality specialty ammunition to multiple branches of the U.S. military,” said Federal Ammunition President Jason Vanderbrink. “Their continued trust is of the utmost importance to us, and is something we are certainly most proud of. With this, Federal Ammunition continues to demonstrate surety of supply, professional capability, the ability to meet all specifications, and reliable delivery on production expectations of our military contracts.”
The original 2017 contract for 5.56 NATO MK311 Frangible Ammunition—valued at up to $52.8 million—is a firm-fixed-price agreement that expires June 25, 2022.
