Orbital ATK has received contracts valued at $53 million to produce large caliber training ammunition for the U.S. Army.
The orders include both 120mm and 105mm ammunition types.
The 120mm training ammunition, used by the Abrams main battle tank, includes the M865 kinetic energy and the M1002 multi-purpose tank training rounds.
(M1A1/A2 ABRAMS battle tank in ACTION & FIRING! Courtesy of Ultimate Military Channel and YouTube)
The 105mm M724A2 is used for crew training on the Stryker Mobile Gun System vehicles.
These training rounds closely replicate tactical ammunition in appearance and ballistic performance to provide the warfighter with an affordable, yet realistic training experience.
(See soldiers live fire training with 105 mm tank gun in Estonia. Courtesy of Army News & Docs and YouTube)
“High-quality training ammunition is essential to the warfighter, who must be prepared to react decisively on today’s battlefield,” said Dan Olson, Vice President and General Manager for the Armament Systems Division of Orbital ATK’s Defense Systems Group.
“By leveraging our expertise in tactical ammunition, we have produced training rounds that are visually and ballistically similar to their counterpart tactical rounds while meeting the reliability and safety performance requirements for use on U.S. and European ranges.”
The contracts include production of new M1002 and M724A2 rounds to fill inventories and the recapitalization of existing M865 and M1002 rounds to extend their service life.
Orbital ATK has delivered nearly 5 million rounds of large caliber tactical and training tank ammunition to the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps and allied militaries over the years.
Through its proven, system-level contracting approach that reduces the risk to the customer, Orbital ATK has delivered a constant supply of ammunition that is consistently reliable and affordable.
Orbital ATK’s Defense Systems Group is an industry leader in providing innovative and affordable precision and strike weapons, advanced propulsion and hypersonics, missile components across air-, sea- and land-based systems, ammunition and related energetic products.
Orbital ATK designs, builds and delivers space, defense and aviation systems for customers around the world, both as a prime contractor and merchant supplier.
Its main products include launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; missile products, subsystems and defense electronics; precision weapons, armament systems and ammunition; satellites and associated space components and services; and advanced aerospace structures.
