The Naval Surface Warfare Center has issued a contract for millions of rounds of 6.5mm Creedmoor ammunition for use by Special Operations and the Marine Corps. 

The $40 million maximum award to South Dakota's Black Hills Ammunition Inc. was announced by the Pentagon earlier this week, with Black Hills beating out submissions from five other companies. The pre-solicitation notice issued last December was for 17,367,760 rounds of DODIC AC58 6.5x49mm Special Ball Long Range Ammunition. 
 

Related: Love It or Loathe It – All About the 6.5 Creedmoor Round

The 6.5 Creedmoor rifle cartridge was officially introduced by Hornady in 2007 as a long-range, flat-shooting round with manageable recoil. Tested by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command in 2017 for the Precision Intermediate Caliber Ammunition program, it was qualified for use by USSOCOM units the following year.

Since then, the FN SCAR 17 and 20 have been fielded in the caliber as have the MK 48 light machine gun, SIG MCX Spear, and the M110A3 variant of the Knight's Armament M110. 

In late 2023, Geissele Automatics announced its MRGG-S (Mid-Range Gas Gun, Sniper), a full-time suppressed 6.5 Creedmoor rifle with a 20-inch barrel, MOA accuracy, and a fully adjustable stock. The MRGG-S went on to win a $23 million SOCOM contract with the gun type classified by the military as the Mark 1 Mod 0 rifle. 
 

The new ammo contract follows on the heels of a 2020 award to Hornady. Work will be performed in Rapid City, South Dakota, and is expected to be completed by August 2030.  
 

Banner image: U.S. Marine designated marksman section chief with Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team Europe, practices weapon manipulation drills with an M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System aboard the Blue Ridge-class command and control ship USS Mount Whitney, April 19, 2025. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Kedrick Schumacher)