Army Ammunition: The Mississippi Plant Will Be Closed After Demonstrating Its Production Capability
Abstract
The Mississippi Army Ammunition Plant, near Picayune, Mississippi, is the only new ammunition plant that the Army has built since World War II. Mason Chamberlain, Incorporated, which operates the plant for the Army, is responsible for integrating the construction effort; purchasing and installing the equipment; demonstrating the capabilities of the production lines; and operating the plant to produce 155-mm M483Al artillery rounds. The plant was designed to produce 120,000 M483Al rounds per month during mobilization. Plant construction began in January 1978, and the Army expected to complete the plant by December 1983, at an estimated cost of about $400 million. The plant experienced numerous start-up problems and is not yet fully operational. In September 1986, the Army reported that deficiencies in plant processes and other problems had prevented the plant from fully meeting its designed mobilization production rate. The Congress provided $123 million in fiscal year 1987 funds to correct the identified deficiencies. As directed by the House Committee on Appropriations, the Army assembled an independent panel, which validated the plan. The Army has awarded a $117.7 million firm fixed-price contract (the mobilization contract) to Mason Chamberlain, Incorporated, to correct the problems by August 31, 1990.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 04, 1989
- Accession Number
- AD1101884
Entities
People
- Floyd Smith
- Patti Nichol
- Peter Konjevich
- Raymond Dunham
- Richard A. Davis
- Ruben Green
- William J. Ryczek
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office