23 April 2012

$16,000,000 of M4s Coming Soon

The Army has ordered 24,000 M4 carbines from Remington. Yes, Remington, and not Colt. The Army Times reports...

It was bound to happen. The Army has been buying M4 carbines exclusively from Colt since 2002 (though the first Colt M4 contract was awarded in 1996). But, as of Friday, Remington Arms has been added to that dance card. The question is whether Colt retained a portion of the contract. It appears they haven’t, but it’s hard to tell from the published documents.

According to the Department of the Army’s Chief of Legislative Liaison, the Army on Friday executed a delivery order on an existing contract to buy 24,000 M4/M4A1s worth $16,163,252.07. The order comes as line 001 on an IDIQ contract for up to 120,000 carbines worth $83,924,089, though U.S. Army Contracting Command lists the “Max Potential Contract Value $180,000,000.00.” The rifles will be made at Remington’s factory in Ilion, N.Y., from the Colt technical data package and should cost about $673 a copy.

This news is just hours old so Remington, and likely Colt, are still spinning up the PR machines. I spoke with two Remington Arms employees who confirmed the contract award but hadn’t been cleared to make a statement on behalf of the company.

By: Brant

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