Army's Fiscal Year 1979 Program for Procuring Conventional Ammunition and Related Production Base Support

The Army's fiscal year (FY) 1979 ammunition appropriation request was $1.15 billion for procuring conventional ammunition and $265 million for related production support. The ammunition is for annual peacetime training and reserve wartime stocks. Most of the requested production support funds are for modernizing and expanding the Army's ammunition plants.

The $85 million requested for three conventional ammunition items should not be appropriated now because: there are unresolved issues about Copperhead rounds relating to system vulnerability, weather effects and cost-effectiveness; an impact switch for increasing the reliability of the 105-mm high explosive antitank round is still being developed; and the ground-emplaced mine scattering system is not currently needed. Also, the Army should not procure a depleted uranium penetrator until a potential health hazard has been resolved. All but 2 of 13 modernization and expansion projects reviewed were adequately justified. Two projects that should be deferred are replacing of four obsolete ammonia oxidation plants at the Holston Army Ammunition Plant with a new $14.4 million facility and improving the main heating plant at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant. Projects in the ammunition manufacturing methods and technology program were production oriented, the Army's review process was extensive, and past years' project results were disseminated for use by others. Production support and equipment replacement projects at four locations could not be supported.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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