The US Army has awarded the defence prime Northrop Grumman a five-year contract to manufacture a 120mm munition – the M1147 Advanced Multi-Purpose (AMP) round – for use on the M1 Abrams main battle tank.
The announcement follows the approval in December 2024 by the Joint Program Executive Officer for Armaments & Ammunition (JPEO A&A), which allowed the M1147 120mm AMP round to enter Full Rate Production.
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Northrop Grumman stated that the contract aims to address the needs of both the US Army and its international partners, with the goal of supplying large calibre tank ammunition over the coming years.
Financial values of the contract have not been disclosed.
Northrop Grumman armament systems vice president Dave Fine said: “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.”
The M1147 AMP cartridge is a line of sight, full-bore multipurpose munition.
The latest variant of the munition consolidates the roles previously filled by the M830 High Explosive Anti-Tank round, M830A1 Multi-Purpose Anti-Tank round, M1028 Canister round, and M908 Obstacle Reduction round, merging their capabilities into a single type of ammunition.
By incorporating a multi-mode programmable fuze, the AMP round can function in point-detonate, point-detonate delay, and airburst modes.
These features enable crew members to engage a range of targets and add new capabilities, such as breaching double reinforced concrete walls and defeating dismounted Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) teams at various ranges.
Northrop Grumman has been involved in the design and production of large calibre ammunition for more than four decades, delivering over five million tactical and training rounds to the US Army, US Marine Corps, and allied military forces worldwide.
