Evaluation of the Need for and Cost of the Proposed New Army Ammunition Plant in Mississippi

As a result of comparative studies of sites for a new ammunition manufacturing complex, the Army concluded that the site at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, showed an economic advantage over other sites and recommended the construction of the Mississippi Army Ammunition Plant (MAAP). The Army justified the need to expand the production capacity for the 155-mm, M483 artillery round on the basis that the present mobilization production rate, 120,000 rounds a month, was significantly less than its projected requirement of 438,000 rounds a month. The proposed new facility was designed to provide an additional mobilization production capacity of 120,000 rounds a month, assuring a total combined capacity of 240,000 rounds a month or 55% of the projected requirement.