LMT Defense Receives $92 Million SOCOM Contract

On Aug. 20, U.S. Special Operation Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, awarded LMT Defense with a 10-year, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity 10-year contract for 6.5 Creedmoor-chambered rifles. Value of the agreement has a ceiling of $92 million. The order includes medium-range gas gun-assault kits, spare parts, accessories, new equipment training and engineering change proposals. The rifles have 14.5-inch barrels and are based on LMT’s Modular, Ambidextrous, Rifle System. Production will be completed at Lewis Machine & Tool Defense’s factory in Eldridge, IA

“It was certainly larger than we had anticipated, but like everything else, you don’t give back your Christmas presents either,” Karl Lewis, president of LMT Defense, told WQAD TV. “We’ve had a number of very good international successes. The UK, New Zealand, Estonia, recently with the Swiss companies, and we’re doing it here in Iowa.” 

The mentioned Swiss contract came early this year. Most of the firearms ordered were chambered in 5.56 NATO, although the agreement included a mix of other calibers. The primary small arms fielded by that nation’s military were a long-in-the-tooth assortment of SIG 550s, 552s and 553s before the order.

“We are honored to support the Swiss armed forces with our advanced small-arms solution,” Lewis said at the time. “This contract reflects our commitment to quality and innovation and strengthens our successful partnership with SWISSLOXX AG.”

Another Big 6.5 Creedmoor Order

Also on Aug. 20 Black Hills Ammunition was a awarded a contract for 6.5 Creedmoor cartridges from the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, which is in Crane, IN. The firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity agreement is valued at $40 million and expected to be completed by August 2030. Manufacturing will take place at the Black Hills Ammunition plant in Rapid City, SD. The ammunition will be used by the Marine Corps and Special Operations.

The original solicitation for that contract bid, which was posted in December, 2024, listed the total volume of cartridges needed as 17,367,760.