Marines Award $95 Million Contract for Polymer-Cased .50 Caliber Ammo
(USMC Photo)
After years of field testing, the Marines this week issued the service’s largest contract for polymer-cased .50 cal BMG ammunition.
The five-year $95 million contract, awarded to Nammo to be filled at the company’s MAC facility in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, was issued on Tuesday by the Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Virginia.
As I previously reported at Guns.com, the Marines have been ordering polymer-cased .50 cal from MAC as far back as 2019. The company uses an advanced polymer caselet over a metal cap to reduce ammo weight by as much as 30 percent and provide cooler chamber temperatures, ejecting cool-to-the-touch cases. No modifications are necessary in weapons or procedures when using their polymer-cased cartridges.
Lighter weight per round comes in handy in logistics-limited operations typical of the Marines, who must move every bullet ashore either via aircraft, landing craft, or amphibious vehicle. In tests, a 100-round belt of polymer-cased .50 cal is 7 pounds lighter compared to legacy brass-cased rounds.
“This polymer ammunition also reduces fuel costs not only for aircraft but also for logistics and supply,” said Marine CWO3 Chad Cason, the project officer for .50-cal polymer ammunition at MCSC, in a 2022 release. “You can fit more ammunition on the pallet, increasing the overall pallet space used on a truck or ship. You can carry more on vehicles into combat or training as well.”
The Marines issued a $10 million contract to MAC in 2020.