Recent contract award announcements indicate that U.S. Army warfighters will soon begin receiving new “improved” 30 round magazines for their M4/M16 series weapons.

According to the July 20 announcement by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) contracting office in Rock Island, Ill., the government intends to issue a sole source award to Brownells Inc., of Montezuma, Iowa, for 550,000 of that company’s 30 Round Improved Magazines (assigned National Stock Number: 1005-01-561-7200). The award will be made as a modification to that company’s existing contract W52H09-09-C-0072.

While carefully avoiding any description of “the government spec,” Larry Weeks, public relations manager at Brownells explained, “I can tell you that the intention was for fewer ‘misfeeds.’ And, in their testing, they said they had fewer problems [with Brownells magazines].”

“Everything we make has to [have] zero failures/zero misfeeds,” he added. “Every round must function out of every magazine, otherwise we have to throw away the lot. And every one of them always does for us.”