The Defense Logistics Agency this week announced that Texas-built Magpul Industries Corp is the winner of a three-year magazine contract.

The maximum $20,076,393 firm-fixed-price contract for gun magazines was a competitively bid with Magpul beating out two other companies. Awarded by DLA Land and Maritime, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, the contract covers mags for use by both the Army and Navy, the latter of which will include the Marines, with work expected to continue through 2026.

First debuted more than 15 years ago at the 2007 SHOT Show, Magpul's Polymer Magazine, or PMAG, soon became an industry standard when it came to AR mags and almost immediately became well-liked by the military, even if they were the bane of Big Army: non standard-issue. 

It was during the U.S. involvement in new land wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, both under harsh "sandbox" conditions, that the PMAG picked up NSN numbers (1005015765159 for the plain black magazine and 1005015765164 for windowed) and increasingly was purchased for use by units deploying and deployed to the region. 

In 2009, Army Major Thomas P. Ehrhart noted in his paper, "Increasing Small Arms Lethality in Afghanistan":

These magazines represent the cutting edge of technology for making the rifle more reliable. Recently, the PMAG was assigned a national stock number, so units can now order these magazines through the supply system... All combat arms units should consider replacing their standard issue magazines with the much more reliable PMAG.

In December 2016, Magpul announced the Marines had, after a four-year testing evolution, adopted their MCT PMAG for use in all their 5.56mm platforms. In government-administered tests, the PMAG reportedly cycled 20,400 rounds of M855A1 ammo without any magazine-related stoppages. This, in turn, drew questions from lawmakers to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley over why the country’s primary small arms user wasn’t fielding polymer mags. Subsequently, the DLA in 2017 announced a $12 million contract with Magpul to supply the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps with PMAGs.