Small Arms Defense Journal
No Result
View All Result
Sun , May 18, 2025
  • Login
  • Home
  • Advertise
  • Brief
  • Category
    • Ammunition
    • Columns
    • Editorials
    • Features
    • Grenades & Rockets
    • History
    • Industry Profiles
    • Interviews
    • Military Museums
    • New Products
    • Reviews
    • Show Reports
    • Show Videos
    • Suppressors
  • Press Releases
  • Search By Issue
    • Volume 1
      • V1N1
      • V1N2
      • V1N3
      • V1N4
    • Volume 2
      • V2N1
      • V2N2
      • V2N3
      • V2N4
    • Volume 3
      • V3N1
      • V3N2
      • V3N3
      • V3N4
    • Volume 4
      • V4N1
      • V4N2
      • V4N3
      • V4N4
    • Volume 5
      • V5N1
      • V5N2
      • V5N3
      • V5N4
    • Volume 6
      • V6N1
      • V6N2
      • V6N3
      • V6N4
    • Volume 7
      • V7N1
      • V7N2
      • V7N3
      • V7N4
      • V7N5
    • Volume 8
      • V8N1
      • V8N2
      • V8N3
      • V8N4
      • V8N5
      • V8N6
    • Volume 9
      • V9N1
      • V9N2
      • V9N3
      • V9N4
      • V9N5
      • V9N6
    • Volume 10
      • V10N1
      • V10N2
      • V10N3
      • V10N4
      • V10N5
      • V10N6
    • Volume 11
      • V11N1
      • V11N2
      • V11N3
      • V11N4
      • V11N5
      • V11N6
    • Volume 12
      • V12N1
      • V12N2
      • V12N3
      • V12N4
      • V12N5
      • V12N6
    • Volume 13
      • V13N1
      • V13N2
      • V13N3
      • V13N4
      • V13N5
      • V13N6
    • Volume 14
      • V14N1
      • SADJ – V14N2
      • SADJ – V14N3
  • Trade Show Information
    • Show Calendar
    • Africa
      • Africa Aerospace & Defence – Centurion, South Africa
    • Asia
      • Asia China Police Expo – Beijing, China
      • BRIDEX – Jerudong, Brunei Darussalam
      • Defense & Security – Bangkok, Thailand
      • Defense Services Asia – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
        • DSA Pre Show Report : EXPECT THE BEST!
      • IDEAS – Karachi, Pakistan
      • INDO DEFENCE – Jakarta, Indonesia
      • TADTE – Taipei, Taiwan
    • Europe
      • Arms & Security – Kyiv, Ukraine
      • ASDA – Split, Croatia
      • B&T Police Equipment Show – Thun, Switzerland
      • BSDA – Bucharest, Romania
      • DSEI – London, United Kingdom
      • Eurosatory – Paris, France
        • Successful 27th edition of EUROSATORY after a 4-year absence!
        • EUROSATORY 2022
      • Expomil – Bucharest, Romania
      • Future Forces – Prague, Czech Republic
      • IDEB – Bratislava, Slovak Republic
      • IDEF – Istanbul, Turkey
      • IWA OutdoorClassics – Nuremberg, Germany
      • Milipol – Paris, France
      • MSPO – Kielce, Poland
        • MSPO 2023: Mission is Underway
        • MSPO 2023 – Lead Nation Exhibition Update: Preparations Are Underway
      • Partner – Belgrade, Serbia
      • Symposia at Shrivenham – Shrivenham, UK
    • Middle East
      • IDEX – Abu Dhabi, UAE
      • ISDEF – Tel Aviv, Israel
    • North America
      • Modern Day Marine – Quantico, VA
      • SHOT Show – Las Vegas, NV
    • South America
      • FIDAE – Santiago, Chile
      • LAAD – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
      • SITDEF – Lima, Peru
        • SITDEF – NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2021
  • About us
  • Home
  • Advertise
  • Brief
  • Category
    • Ammunition
    • Columns
    • Editorials
    • Features
    • Grenades & Rockets
    • History
    • Industry Profiles
    • Interviews
    • Military Museums
    • New Products
    • Reviews
    • Show Reports
    • Show Videos
    • Suppressors
  • Press Releases
  • Search By Issue
    • Volume 1
      • V1N1
      • V1N2
      • V1N3
      • V1N4
    • Volume 2
      • V2N1
      • V2N2
      • V2N3
      • V2N4
    • Volume 3
      • V3N1
      • V3N2
      • V3N3
      • V3N4
    • Volume 4
      • V4N1
      • V4N2
      • V4N3
      • V4N4
    • Volume 5
      • V5N1
      • V5N2
      • V5N3
      • V5N4
    • Volume 6
      • V6N1
      • V6N2
      • V6N3
      • V6N4
    • Volume 7
      • V7N1
      • V7N2
      • V7N3
      • V7N4
      • V7N5
    • Volume 8
      • V8N1
      • V8N2
      • V8N3
      • V8N4
      • V8N5
      • V8N6
    • Volume 9
      • V9N1
      • V9N2
      • V9N3
      • V9N4
      • V9N5
      • V9N6
    • Volume 10
      • V10N1
      • V10N2
      • V10N3
      • V10N4
      • V10N5
      • V10N6
    • Volume 11
      • V11N1
      • V11N2
      • V11N3
      • V11N4
      • V11N5
      • V11N6
    • Volume 12
      • V12N1
      • V12N2
      • V12N3
      • V12N4
      • V12N5
      • V12N6
    • Volume 13
      • V13N1
      • V13N2
      • V13N3
      • V13N4
      • V13N5
      • V13N6
    • Volume 14
      • V14N1
      • SADJ – V14N2
      • SADJ – V14N3
  • Trade Show Information
    • Show Calendar
    • Africa
      • Africa Aerospace & Defence – Centurion, South Africa
    • Asia
      • Asia China Police Expo – Beijing, China
      • BRIDEX – Jerudong, Brunei Darussalam
      • Defense & Security – Bangkok, Thailand
      • Defense Services Asia – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
        • DSA Pre Show Report : EXPECT THE BEST!
      • IDEAS – Karachi, Pakistan
      • INDO DEFENCE – Jakarta, Indonesia
      • TADTE – Taipei, Taiwan
    • Europe
      • Arms & Security – Kyiv, Ukraine
      • ASDA – Split, Croatia
      • B&T Police Equipment Show – Thun, Switzerland
      • BSDA – Bucharest, Romania
      • DSEI – London, United Kingdom
      • Eurosatory – Paris, France
        • Successful 27th edition of EUROSATORY after a 4-year absence!
        • EUROSATORY 2022
      • Expomil – Bucharest, Romania
      • Future Forces – Prague, Czech Republic
      • IDEB – Bratislava, Slovak Republic
      • IDEF – Istanbul, Turkey
      • IWA OutdoorClassics – Nuremberg, Germany
      • Milipol – Paris, France
      • MSPO – Kielce, Poland
        • MSPO 2023: Mission is Underway
        • MSPO 2023 – Lead Nation Exhibition Update: Preparations Are Underway
      • Partner – Belgrade, Serbia
      • Symposia at Shrivenham – Shrivenham, UK
    • Middle East
      • IDEX – Abu Dhabi, UAE
      • ISDEF – Tel Aviv, Israel
    • North America
      • Modern Day Marine – Quantico, VA
      • SHOT Show – Las Vegas, NV
    • South America
      • FIDAE – Santiago, Chile
      • LAAD – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
      • SITDEF – Lima, Peru
        • SITDEF – NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2021
  • About us
No Result
View All Result
Small Arms Defense Journal
No Result
View All Result
Phoenix Ads Image
Home Ammunition

Ammunition Mecca in Middle America: A Visit to the Lake City Ammunition Plant

by Jason M. Wong
15 August, 2023
in Ammunition, Author Name, Search By Issue, V2N3, Volume 2
0 0
0
0
SHARES
197
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Freshly loaded .50 BMG rounds. Each color used to seal the primers represents a separate loading machine, allowing defective rounds to be tracked back to the machine that loaded it.

In the Global War on Terror, ammunition is a necessary commodity to fight a war.  Luckily, with good logistics and supply chain management, little thought is given to where the ammunition actually comes from.  As the sole remaining U.S. Army ammunition factory, the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant invited a small group to tour the factory facility.  Commonly known as “Lake City,” the plant is located outside Kansas City, Missouri, occupies 4,000 acres, comprises more than 400 buildings, and currently employs over 2,700 employees.

Created by (then) Senator Harry Truman, ground breaking and construction commenced on December 26, 1940, with completion and opening of the facility in the summer of 1941.  The timing was fortuitous, as the United States entered World War II less than six-months later.  The facility has been producing ammunition on a near daily basis ever since.  Operated as a government owned, contractor managed facility, the facility is currently managed by Alliant Techsystems, commonly known as ATK.  ATK has managed the plant since April 3, 2000.

Brass cup used to form .50 BMG brass.

In 2005, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) conducted a study on the availability of ammunition, and the condition of the defense manufacturing base.  The GAO found that following the end of the Cold War, the U.S. Government significantly reduced the number of small and medium caliber ammunition and eliminated all but one government owned ammunition-producing facilities.  Since 2001 and the Global War on Terror, demand for ammunition has increased significantly.  According to the 2005 GAO study, between fiscal years 2000 and 2005, total requirements for small caliber ammunitions more than doubled, from about 730 million to nearly 1.8 billion rounds, while total requirements for medium caliber ammunition increased from 11.7 million rounds to almost 22 million rounds.  In 2006, official production of small arms ammunition did not meet the demands of the U.S. military, and the U.S. Government was forced to buy ammunition on the commercial market and from foreign supplies.

The increase in demand by the U.S. Government necessitated modernization of the facility; production rates could no longer meet the ever increasing government demand for high quality small arms ammunition.  The modernization effort was approved by Congress, to the tune of $52 million dollars to allow replacement or refurbishment of cartridge production equipment, and to allow facility improvements.  Due to the modernization, the facility has been able to increase capacity to address current needs, with the ability to increase present production to meet future needs.  According to a U.S. Army official, the Army plans to replace and refurbish ammunition production equipment at the facility through fiscal year 2011 and beyond.

5.56 cartridge cases are manufactured at a rate of 1,200 cases per minute.

A lot has changed since 1940, and yet the plant is remarkably simple.  Raw materials come in, and finished ammunition goes out.  Nearly everything is manufactured on site – primers, brass cartridges, and projectiles are all made on site, in a variety of sizes and calibers.  Four types of ammunition are manufactured on site – 5.56mm, 7.62mm, .50 BMG and 20mm.  The small arms ammunition – 5.56mm, 7.62mm, and .50 BMG – are produced from raw materials, while the 20mm ammunition is assembled from components delivered from off site.  In the ten years of operation, ATK has delivered 10 billion rounds of ammunition to the U.S. Army.  As a testament to the importance of the Lake City Facility, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. visited the plant in October 2009.  “I’m out here on my first trip to Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, and I’m hugely impressed with what I’ve seen here.  Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is a critical manufacturer of small caliber ammunition.  We are using 20 million rounds per year in Afghanistan.” Casey said.

M62 7.62mm tracer ammunition, waiting to be belted and loaded.

Karen Davies, Senior Vice President and President for Alliant Techsystems provided additional insight into the modernization process.  “Soldiers don’t think about their ammunition.  They know it’s going to initiate and function.  That’s the best possible feedback from our endeavors at modernization.  We’ve implemented a lean six-sigma model within the modernization as a means of ensuring quality throughout the manufacturing process.  We’ve also sought to increase awareness and control throughout the ranks of our employees as a means of incorporating improvements throughout the production process so that we are not reliant upon testing performed at the end of production.”  Given the current needs of the Army within the Global War on Terror, the Lake City facility has a heavy burden to produce and deliver.  Given the modernization efforts and the patriotic nature of the employees, there is no doubt that the Lake City facility will continue to produce high quality ammunition for the U.S. Army soldier.

Quick facts: 
– 6.5 million rounds of .50 BMG ammunition produced per month.
– 3.5 million rounds of 5.56mm ammunition produced per day.
– Each 5.56mm machine loading can produce 1200 rds of 5.56 per minute
– 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition are manufactured on site per year.
– 8 million rounds are test fired as part of quality control, research, and development per year.

Lake City Arsenal.

Author

  • Jason M. Wong
    Jason M. Wong

    View all posts
Tags: 2010Jason WongV2N3Volume 2

Related Posts

Industry Profiles

Phoenix Defence Partners with Truvelo Armoury

by SADJ Staff
9 August, 2023
Features

Croatian VHS-D1 Rifle in Syria

by SADJ Staff
9 August, 2023
Features

Typhoon 12

by SADJ Staff
24 February, 2023
Editorials

Industry News: V12N4

by SADJ Staff
14 September, 2022
Author Name

General Dynamics displays internally funded programs at Modern Day Marine 2014

by SADJ Staff
9 August, 2023

RECENT POSTS

Daniel Defense PCC SBR- The Pistol Caliber Carbine Taken to a Higher Level

27 June, 2024

True Velocity, FN America Announce Global Manufacturing Partnership on Lightweight Medium Machine Gun

18 June, 2024

CZ’s New Modular, Multi-Caliber CZ BREN 3 Rifle

17 June, 2024

Reaching 2 Miles and Beyond: A Review of Barrett’s New MRADELR Rifle

11 June, 2024

FN Updates EVOLYS Ergonomics

6 June, 2024
Small Arms Defense Journal

Welcome to Small Arms Defense Journal‘s digital presence! The contributors to this site come from many walks of life, but we all have common ground; the study of small arms technology and history.

POPULAR CATEGORIES

  • Ammunition
  • Doctrine
  • Foreign Military
  • Grenades & Rockets
  • Machine Gun Memorabilia
  • Suppressors

SITE LINKS

  • About us
  • Editorials
  • Reviews

CONTACT DETAILS

  • Phone :+1(702)565-0746
  • Email : office@sadefensejournal.com
  • Web : www.chipotlepublishing.com
  • Chipotle Publishing, LLC 631 N. Stephanie St., No. 282, Henderson, NV 89014
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer

© 2024 Chipotle Publishing | All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • About Small Arms Review
  • About us
  • Advertise
  • Brief
  • Home
  • Observe
  • Show Schedule
  • test
  • Trade Show Information
    • Africa
      • Africa Aerospace & Defence – Centurion, South Africa
    • Asia
      • Asia China Police Expo – Beijing, China
      • BRIDEX – Jerudong, Brunei Darussalam
      • Defense & Security – Bangkok, Thailand
      • Defense Services Asia – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
      • IDEAS – Karachi, Pakistan
      • INDO DEFENCE – Jakarta, Indonesia
      • TADTE – Taipei, Taiwan
    • Australia
    • Europe
      • Arms & Security – Kyiv, Ukraine
      • ASDA – Split, Croatia
      • B&T Police Equipment Show – Thun, Switzerland
      • BSDA – Bucharest, Romania
      • DSEI – London, United Kingdom
      • Eurosatory – Paris, France
      • Expomil – Bucharest, Romania
      • Future Forces – Prague, Czech Republic
      • IDEB – Bratislava, Slovak Republic
      • IDEF – Istanbul, Turkey
      • IWA OutdoorClassics – Nuremberg, Germany
      • Milipol – Paris, France
      • MSPO – Kielce, Poland
      • MSPO 2021: Defence industry giants – solid as a rock
      • MSPO 2022 — South Korea Holds the MSPO’s Lead Nation Exhibition for the Second Time
      • MSPO 2022: SHOW REPORT
      • Partner – Belgrade, Serbia
      • Symposia at Shrivenham – Shrivenham, UK
    • Middle East
      • IDEX – Abu Dhabi, UAE
      • ISDEF – Tel Aviv, Israel
      • SOFEX – Amman, Jordan
    • North America
      • Modern Day Marine – Quantico, VA
      • SHOT Show – Las Vegas, NV
    • Show Calendar
    • South America
      • FIDAE – Santiago, Chile
      • LAAD – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
      • SITDEF – Lima, Peru
  • V12N3

© 2024 Chipotle Publishing | All Rights Reserved