Army Creates Ammo Office
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Army Creates Ammo Office
The Army created a new Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Agile Sustainment and Ammunition to speed up ammunition delivery to troops, consolidating functions previously spread across multiple offices.
The new office gives one authority control over ammunition requirements, development, testing, contracting, production, maintenance, and foreign military sales. It's located at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey and headed by Maj. Gen. John Reim.
Why it matters: This represents the Army's biggest ammunition procurement overhaul in years as the military struggles with supply chain bottlenecks and rising costs.
- The change shifts away from program-centric acquisition toward outcome-driven capability delivery.
- Winchester's latest earnings show the industry pressure—profits collapsed 98% in Q4 due to promotional pricing and rising raw material costs including copper, brass, and propellant.
Between the lines: The Army is scrambling to fix a broken system that can't keep up with demand.
- Congress just approved only $1.8 billion for munitions out of the Pentagon's $28.8 billion request for multiyear contracts.
- Lawmakers complained the Pentagon "has not demonstrated with necessary documentation" that proposed munitions meet legal requirements for multiyear procurement.
- The justification came "absent an official budget request, and without adequate funding offsets."
By the numbers: The ammunition crunch is hitting across multiple fronts.
- Winchester sales rose 3.2% to $449.4 million but segment earnings fell to just $0.6 million from $42 million a year ago.
- Congress approved eight munitions for multiyear procurement including PAC-3 missiles, SM-6, THAAD, and AMRAAM.
- $500 million allocated for solid rocket motor facility upgrades to address supply chain chokepoints.
The new office combines capabilities from the Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition with logistics functions from Program Executive Office Combat Support. During the inauguration, officials demonstrated lethal and counter-drone systems including the Picatinny Common Lethality Integration Kit.
Meanwhile, private industry is ramping up capacity. South Korean defense contractor Hanwha Defense USA plans a $1.3 billion, 1,065-acre munitions campus at Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas. The 50-year lease could create 200 skilled jobs producing propellants, energetics, and advanced ammunition systems for 155mm howitzers.
What's next: The Army expects modest improvement in Q1 2026 as commercial customer inventories normalize.
- Winchester implemented increased commercial ammunition pricing to offset rising raw material costs.
- Military sales growth continues to outperform commercial ammunition sales.
- The Pentagon must submit a comprehensive Golden Dome spending plan within 60 days after the defense bill's enactment.
The bottom line: The Army is betting that reorganization can solve what money alone hasn't fixed—getting ammunition to troops faster and cheaper.
Go deeper:
- Pine Bluff Commercial: Munitions campus coming to Pine Bluff Arsenal
- SGB Online: Winchester's Q4 profits tumble on pricing pressures
- The Defense Post: US Army creates new office to speed ammo acquisition
- Breaking Defense: FY26 defense bill boosts budget, bypasses munitions request
Read the original article in The Handbook | By Steve Duskett
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With ammo prices still climbing and supply staying tight, are you adjusting what you shoot at the range, or stocking up differently than you used to?
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