The U.S. Army and AMTEC Corporation have officially opened a new 40mm ammunition production line and a 200-meter indoor test range at AMTEC’s Janesville, Wisconsin facility, advancing the Army’s long-term initiative to expand, modernize, and secure domestic munitions manufacturing.
The development includes a 72,000-square-foot manufacturing facility dedicated to producing the 40mm M918E2 High Velocity Target Practice round, supported by a purpose-built indoor testing and quality-assurance range. The Army invested about $21 million to establish the new line, which replaces labor-intensive manufacturing methods with automated processes, improving production speed, consistency, and reliability.
The M918E2 cartridge is a high-velocity 40mm training round compatible with platforms such as the MK19, M203, and M320 grenade launchers. Designed with safety and realism in mind, it eliminates the risk of unexploded training duds and features visible impact signatures observable in daylight, low-light, and thermal environments. These capabilities support more realistic live-fire exercises and align with the Army’s “train as you fight” training philosophy.
The addition of an on-site indoor test range will simplify testing and certification processes that previously depended on off-site facilities requiring additional logistics and security coordination. The Janesville site forms part of a wider Army effort to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base amid rising global demand and sustained support to allies. Since 2022, the service has committed billions of dollars to new infrastructure, production lines, and modernization projects, with this facility becoming one of more than 10 new or upgraded munitions-related sites established under the program.
