U.S. Ordnance

U.S. Ordnance, Inc.
Private
Industry Arms [1]
Founded 1997 [1]
Headquarters Reno, Nevada, United States[1]
Products Firearms [1]
Website www.usord.com

U.S. Ordnance–Defense Systems and Manufacturing–often referred to as USORD is a firearms manufacturer located in McCarran, Nevada, 20 minutes outside Reno, Nevada. Since 1997,[2] the Nevada corporation has designed, developed and manufactured military small arms, machine guns and replacement parts.

U.S. Ordnance specializes in producing new, enhanced versions of the mature, combat-proven Mk43/M60E4 and M2, making and testing them according to U.S. military technical specifications and instructions. Only U.S. Ordnance manufactures the Mk43 machine gun.

The company's primary weapon systems are the M2HB, M2A2 (QCB), the Mk43/M60E4, the M60D Enhanced and the M16/M4/M203, all of which are NATO sanctioned. U.S. Ordnance sells these to governmental agencies in the U.S., including law enforcement and the military, and to federally approved foreign leaderships and militaries. It also facilitates training for its products.

M2 and M60 machine guns are in service in more than (46) countries.

Capabilities

U.S. Ordnance’s new plant is a 68,000-square-foot (6,300 m2) facility where product research, development, manufacturing and testing take place. A U.S. government representative is on site to witness and verify specific procedures in the production and testing of the weapons, and ensure all the required standards are met.

Development

All the products that U.S. Ordnance develops are per NATO specifications.

The company ensures that all of its Mk43 and M2 improvements are backwards compatible and that its M2 spares and components interchange with those from Maremont Corp. and Saco Defense.

U.S. Ordnance Research and Development personnel put the company’s weapon systems through drop testing and environmental testing like mud, ice, heat and water immersion to ensure they will continue to perform even in the harshest environments.

Manufacturing

U.S. Ordnance has CNC machining centers and screw machines,[3] which are used to machine the various parts that make up each weapon. Other machinery includes high-capacity barrel production and Mil Standard plating equipment.

The company also uses a magnetic particle inspection machine for detecting surface and subsurface irregularities in the metal of its weapons.

In February 2006, much of the M60 production tooling (owned by the U.S. Army) was transferred from General Dynamics at Saco to U.S. Ordnance.[4][5]

Inventory control and storage

U.S. Ordnance’s ISO 9001:2008 inventory control and storage process guarantees that only approved components and materials are used on its weapon systems.

Surface treatments

Finished components are phosphated in-house using a U.S. government-certified Mil-Spec process. It involves application of manganese, which protects the steel surfaces from corrosion.

Cryogenic processing

U.S. Ordnance also puts its weapons through a cold treatment. Called cryo for short, the process involves cooling the steel to approximately minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit, which increases the martensite content in its crystalline structure. This ultimately hardens and strengthens the metal.

U.S. Ordnance uses cryo to relieve stresses in tooling and weapon materials, to increase the weapons’ service life and help resist wear.

Final assembly

U.S. Ordnance workers assemble and complete 100% of the company’s weapon systems in-house. All U.S. Ordnance packaging conforms to the military preservation, packing, and marking requirements of the current Mil Standard. UID and RFID marking are done as required.

Shooting/Testing

Each weapon undergoes high-pressure testing and magnetic particle inspection. The company has an on-site shooting range, where personnel proof-fire every weapon for functionality and accuracy.

Quality Control/Assurance

The quality assurance team checks all materials and parts. They inspect the material certifications, heat treat and test reports, and also perform dimensional testing on all of the parts to ensure they comply with the technical drawings.

Each weapon has a unique serial number, which means that all of the raw materials that went into making each one can be traced to their origins.

Packaging

Once a weapon system is completed, tested and receives final Quality Assurance approval, it is packaged, labeled and marked according to the current Mil Standard.

Government contracts

Some of the government contracts U.S. Ordnance has fulfilled include the following:

Weapons

Heavy Machine Guns

Medium Machine Guns

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "U.S. Ordnance: About Us". U.S. Ordnance.
  2. ↑ U.S. Ordnance plans expansion | NNBW.com
  3. ↑ New machine-gun barrel to drive growth of U.S. Ordnance | NNBW.com
  4. 1 2 Jane’s Infantry Weapons, 04-Sep-2009
  5. ↑ MK43Editorial.pdf
  6. 1 2 Jane’s Infantry Weapons, 17-Jan-2009
  7. 1 2 Jane’s Infantry Weapons 07-Sep-2009
  8. ↑ Defense.gov: Contracts for Tuesday, October 07, 2008
  9. ↑ 10-Acquisition of 50 each M60D Enhanced Machine Guns - W52H0909D0135 (Archived) - Federal Business Opportunities: Opportunities
  10. ↑ Defense.gov: Contracts for Wednesday, July 15, 2009
  11. ↑ 10-Guns, through 30 mm - (Archived) - Federal Business Opportunities: Opportunities
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