Northrop wins 5-year deal for next-gen Abrams tank ammo

The U.S. Army has awarded Northrop Grumman a five-year contract to produce the M1147 Advanced Multi-Purpose round, a single 120 mm (4.7 in) tank cartridge that replaces four separate legacy munitions carried by M1 Abrams crews and gives tank commanders the ability to switch between three different detonation modes depending on what they are shooting at.

The contract, announced June 22, 2026, covers production for both the U.S. Army and international partners, though specific quantities and total contract value were not disclosed in the announcement. Northrop Grumman, headquartered in Plymouth, Minnesota, and one of the primary suppliers of large-caliber ammunition to American and allied forces, has delivered more than five million large-caliber rounds to U.S. and partner militaries over the course of its munitions production history. The AMP contract extends that relationship into the next generation of tank ammunition at a moment when ground combat capability and ammunition stockpile depth have returned to the center of Western defense planning.

The M1 Abrams, which has served as the backbone of American armored forces since entering service in 1980 and has been exported to more than a dozen countries including Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Poland, and Ukraine, fires a 120 mm smoothbore cannon capable of defeating the armor of virtually any main battle tank currently in service. The challenge that tank crews have historically faced is not the cannon itself but the ammunition selection process: different target types require different rounds, and a crew that loads the wrong round for the threat they encounter loses critical seconds or loses the engagement entirely. An Abrams crew in a complex environment, facing a mix of enemy vehicles, fortified positions, personnel in the open, and targets behind cover, has historically needed to carry and correctly identify multiple round types to address that variety.

The M1147 AMP resolves that problem by consolidating the capability of four existing rounds into a single cartridge with a programmable fuze that the crew can set before firing based on the target type. The three available fuze modes, point-detonate, point-detonate delay, and airburst, cover the fundamental categories of engagement a tank crew encounters. Point-detonate fires a round that detonates on contact with the target surface, effective against light vehicles, equipment, and personnel in the open. Point-detonate delay allows the round to penetrate a surface before detonating, useful against targets inside structures, behind cover, or protected by light overhead armor. Airburst detonates the round above the target, producing a fragmentation effect that is particularly effective against infantry in the open, troops in trenches or fighting positions, and light unprotected vehicles where a direct hit is not required for a kill effect. The ability to select among these modes with a single round type means a crew can adapt to a changing target picture without changing ammunition, a logistical and tactical simplification that has direct effects on the speed and flexibility of armored operations.

The four legacy rounds that the AMP consolidates into one include the M830A1 Multi-Purpose Anti-Tank round, the M908 Obstacle Reduction round used for breaching obstacles and light structures, the M1028 canister round for close-range anti-personnel use, and the M1069 Close Combat Missile round, which was used against helicopters and light aircraft. Carrying four separate round types requires dedicated storage for each, creates inventory management complexity, and forces crews to make rapid identification and selection decisions under combat stress. A single multipurpose round simplifies all of that while preserving the engagement flexibility that the four legacy rounds collectively provided.

Dave Fine, vice president of armament systems at Northrop Grumman, framed the contract in terms of what it delivers to the Abrams crew at the moment of decision. “With its enhanced functionality, the M1147 AMP meets the Army’s needs for efficiency and readiness, while enhancing the lethality of the Abrams Main Battle Tank. This capability enables unmatched mission flexibility by empowering forces to adapt instantly to any threat,” Fine said.