The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded Vista Outdoor a contract for special 5.56mm ball, carbine, barrier ammunition.

The DoD announced on 20 November that it had awarded a $41,1 million contract to the Minnesota-based company Vista Outdoor for procurement of 5.56mm ammunition that designed to defeat intermediate barriers such as auto windshields and doors while providing sufficient terminal performance.

A full production contract is expected to follow, with a delivery of the batch of new 5.56mm ball to the Naval Surface Warfare Center in November 2023.

The new ammunition will be used in special operations both because they reduce the chance of ricochet in close quarters (such as on a ship) and because they offer increased lethality at short ranges.

The special cartridge by Vista Outdoor would contain a non-toxic, copper, tungsten powder and nylon binder designed to eliminate airborne lead and concerns for disposal. Also, the copper alloy jacket eliminates barrel fouling and gas cutting into a barrel and the double base propellant is clean burning.

Also, DoD noted that  Fiscal 2019 procurement of ammunition (Navy and Marine Corps) funding in the amount of $219,981 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Indiana, is the contracting activity (N00164-19-D-JN58).