Black Hills Ammunition Inc.

Black Hills Ammunition Inc., a Woman-Owned Small Business headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota, manufactures specialized small arms ammunition as a prime contractor across federal defense and civilian law enforcement agencies, holding a $1.26 billion combined potential value portfolio dominated by single-award and multiple-award indefinite delivery contracts with the Department of the Navy, U.S. Special Operations Command, and the Department of Homeland Security.

Black Hills Ammunition is a for-profit Subchapter S corporation and SBA-certified Woman-Owned Small Business that competes predominantly full-and-open rather than under set-aside protection, despite holding numerous woman-owned and total small business set-aside contracts. The company manufactures precision ammunition across NAICS 332992 (Small Arms Ammunition Manufacturing) and PSC 1305 (Ammunition, Through 30mm), with secondary capacity in larger-caliber ordnance. The company operates from its primary manufacturing facility in Rapid City, South Dakota, and maintains secondary performance locations at Laurel, Maryland and Washington, D.C. for Secret Service delivery operations.

The portfolio's customer concentration is extreme. United States Special Operations Command anchors the footprint with a $750 million multiple-award indefinite delivery contract awarded July 21, 2023, through July 21, 2033, for specialized munitions including .300 Norma Magnum, 6.5 Creedmoor open tip match, and .338 Norma Magnum armor-piercing variants. Naval Sea Systems Command accounts for 100 awards valued at $271.9 million across six single-award IDCs, including a $42.48 million contract for 5.56mm long-range special ball ammunition (MK262 MOD 1, DODIC AA53) through July 2030, a $40 million contract for 6.5mm Creedmoor long-range ammunition through August 2030, a $30.9 million contract for 9mm barrier blind cartridges through February 2029, and a $7.5 million contract for 5.56mm long-range ammunition through September 2028. Together, SOCOM and NAVSEA account for approximately 70% of combined potential value. The Department of Homeland Security U.S. Secret Service holds a second-tier relationship with two active IDCs: a $5.74 million contract for 5.56mm 62-grain reduced ricochet limited penetration cartridges through September 2027, and a $3.59 million contract for general ammunition support through September 2027. The Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation Headquarters Division, the Department of the Air Force, and the Naval Supply Systems Command Engineering Logistics Office round out the top five customers by value, accounting for 92% of combined potential value across 172 awards.

Representative prime work spans the portfolio. A $28 million single-award IDIQ awarded January 28, 2026, to the Air Force for 5.56mm reduced ricochet limited penetration ammunition (MK255 MOD 1) carries a Total Small Business set-aside and extends through January 2031; a January 29, 2026 delivery order valued at $455,663 under that vehicle demonstrates current execution. A $2.94 million delivery order from the Air Force awarded December 16, 2022, for 5.56mm RRLP MK255 MOD 1 ammunition illustrates the vendor's core capability. An August 24, 2026 delivery order from the U.S. Secret Service valued at $616,308 for 5.56mm 62-grain reduced ricochet limited penetration ammunition and a September 8, 2026 order valued at $751,975 for TSX ammunition to support the Rowley Training Center show current Secret Service activity. A $2.03 million delivery order from Naval Sea Systems Command issued May 13, 2026, for 9mm barrier blind cartridges, and a $1.84 million order from NAVSEA issued March 14, 2025, for 5.56mm RRLP ammunition demonstrate ongoing Navy procurement. An April 10, 2026 delivery order from the Air Force Sustainment Center valued at $1.9 million for ammunition under a Total Small Business set-aside and a $1.52 million purchase order from Naval Supply Systems Command issued September 27, 2024, for cartridges illustrate secondary execution channels.

Activity has declined year over year after a 2022 peak — 24 awards in 2022 declining to nine in 2026 through September — but aggregate dollar value concentration has increased, driven by consolidation into large multiyear IDCs rather than numerous small delivery orders. The recompete cliff presents minimal near-term exposure; only five awards with ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months carry combined potential value of $4.4 million, compared to $1.26 billion in the overall portfolio, indicating the vendor's major vehicles (SOCOM $750 million, NAVSEA single-awards totaling $120+ million) extend through 2029–2033 without intervening recompete risk.

Black Hills Ammunition holds one subcontract award: a sub to ManTech TSG-2 Joint Venture dated June 23, 2025, for development of expeditionary weapon systems capabilities for Special Operations Command, supporting 6.5 Creedmoor ammunition development. The subcontract share of the footprint is negligible (one award, 0% of total); the vendor operates as a prime almost exclusively.