Manufacturer catalog

Iowa Army Ammunition Plant

Iowa Army Ammunition Plant is a U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command ammunition installation at Middletown, Iowa, focused on load, assemble and pack work for medium- and large-caliber munitions. The government-owned, contractor-operated plant traces its origins to the World War II-era Iowa Ordnance Plant, which began producing munitions in 1941, and today supports Department of Defense ammunition production through American Ordnance-operated facilities.

2 weapons

IAAAP is part of the Army's organic ammunition industrial base. Joint Munitions Command describes its mission as loading, assembling and packing medium- and large-caliber ammunition for worldwide Department of Defense operations, while EPA background material identifies the installation as a government-owned, contractor-operated production facility in southeastern Iowa, approximately four miles west of Burlington.

The plant's public capability set spans 40 mm grenade work, 155 mm artillery, 120 mm tank rounds, mortar propelling charges, missile and rocket warheads, rocket-assisted projectiles, demolition charges, detonators, test ranges and insensitive-munitions development. American Ordnance, the operating contractor, describes flexible LAP production lines at IAAAP for tank ammunition, high-explosive artillery, mortar rounds, missile warheads, fuzes, rocket-assisted projectiles and related explosive components.

Medium- and large-caliber ammunition load, assemble and pack155 mm artillery projectiles and propelling charges60 mm, 81 mm and 120 mm mortar ammunition components120 mm tank ammunitionMissile warheads, demolition charges and energetic components

Notable Systems

M549A1 rocket-assisted projectile, 155 mm high-explosive rocket-assisted projectile, Munitions

M549A1 rocket-assisted projectile

155 mm high-explosive rocket-assisted projectile

RAND's Army ammunition-plant study lists an Iowa AAP line for the 155 mm M549A1 high-explosive rocket-assisted projectile, matching the plant's broader public rocket-assisted-projectile and 155 mm artillery capabilities.

Sources: RAND Army ammunition plants study, JMC IAAAP fact sheet
M888 60 mm high explosive cartridge, 60 mm high-explosive mortar cartridge, Munitions

M888 60 mm high explosive cartridge

60 mm high-explosive mortar cartridge

The U.S. Army PEO Ammunition portfolio book identifies American Ordnance-Iowa AAP, Middletown, Iowa as the load, assemble and pack contractor for the M888 60 mm high-explosive cartridge.

Sources: PEO Ammunition Portfolio Book 2017

Manufacturer History

  1. Iowa Ordnance Plant construction begins

    Joint Munitions Command states that construction of Iowa Ordnance Plant began in January 1941 and that the plant rolled out its first munitions that September.

    Sources: JMC Iowa installation page

  2. Ammunition manufacturing resumes

    After World War II production stopped in 1945, the Army resumed ammunition manufacturing at the plant in 1949 in support of the Korean War.

    Sources: JMC Iowa installation page, JMC IAAAP fact sheet

  3. Renamed Iowa Army Ammunition Plant

    The installation was renamed Iowa Army Ammunition Plant in 1963 after earlier periods as Iowa Ordnance Plant and a government-owned ammunition storage, demilitarization and production site.

    Sources: JMC Iowa installation page

  4. Core warhead and heavy-artillery loading mission

    The Army designated IAAAP as a core plant for warhead and heavy-artillery loading, with a mission to produce, load, assemble and pack munitions.

    Sources: JMC Iowa installation page

  5. Milan missions transferred

    Joint Munitions Command's fact sheet says production missions previously located at Milan Army Ammunition Plant were transferred to IAAAP in 2013.

    Sources: JMC IAAAP fact sheet

Website links
Joint Munitions Command installation pageJoint Munitions Command IAAAP fact sheetAmerican Ordnance IAAAP capabilitiesEPA Superfund site profile

Public sources describe IAAAP as a U.S. Army government-owned, contractor-operated plant. Product attributions may name the Army plant, American Ordnance as the operating contractor, or both; this profile keeps the plant-level attribution separate from the American Ordnance corporate profile.

Manufacturer Sources

  • JMC Iowa installation pagePublisher: U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command | Note: Supports IAAAP's mission, Army installation status, World War II origin, 1949 manufacturing restart, 1963 renaming, 1975 heavy-artillery and warhead loading mission, and BRAC-era modernization context. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • JMC IAAAP fact sheetPublisher: U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command | Note: Supports the plant address, American Ordnance contractor identification, medium- and large-caliber munitions mission, capability list, history, facilities scale, magazine/storage infrastructure, roads and rail network. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • EPA Iowa Army Ammunition Plant Superfund profilePublisher: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | Note: Supports the government-owned, contractor-operated structure, American Ordnance operating context, southeastern Iowa location near Burlington, approximate 19,000-acre site scale, original Iowa Ordnance Plant name, 1940 construction and 1941 production start. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • American Ordnance capabilities and IAAAP contact pagePublisher: American Ordnance LLC | Note: Supports American Ordnance's role as IAAAP operating contractor, its Day & Zimmermann affiliation, plant contact location, and public production capabilities for artillery, mortars, tank ammunition, rocket-assisted projectiles, missile warheads, fuzes, demolition items and energetic components. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • PEO Ammunition Portfolio Book 2017Publisher: U.S. Army Program Executive Office Ammunition | Note: Supports the M888 notable-system link by naming American Ordnance-Iowa AAP, Middletown, Iowa for M888 load, assemble and pack work, and supports additional IAAAP LAP roles for 155 mm artillery and demolition products. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • RAND Army ammunition plants studyPublisher: RAND Corporation | Note: Supports the M549A1 notable-system link by listing an Iowa AAP line for the 155 mm M549A1 HE RAP TNT load, and provides broader context on Iowa AAP as an American Ordnance-operated tank, artillery and energetics facility. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • DVIDS IAAAP 155 mm LAP imagePublisher: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service | Note: Supports the public-domain image and caption describing a contractor employee performing load, assemble and pack work on 155 mm artillery rounds at Iowa Army Ammunition Plant. | Accessed: 2026-07-11

Produced weapons

Category

Munitions

Standalone missiles, bombs, rockets, torpedoes, and guided or unguided explosive payloads.

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M888 60 mm high explosive cartridge, 60 mm high-explosive mortar cartridge, Munitions2001 War in Afghanistan, 2013 War in IraqM888 60 mm high explosive cartridge60 mm high-explosive mortar cartridgeBuilt in: United StatesThe M888 is a U.S. 60 mm high-explosive mortar cartridge for the M224/M224A1 Lightweight Company Mortar System. Army and environmental ordnance references identify it as DODIC B643 with an M935 point-detonating fuze, Composition B fill, 67- to 3,490-meter range, and fragmentation/blast effects against personnel and light materiel. Public conflict-specific evidence for this cartridge currently comes from Afghan National Army and Iraq Train and Equip Fund supply records, so the conflict rows document transfer and delivery context rather than confirmed battlefield firing.
M549A1 rocket-assisted projectile, 155 mm high-explosive rocket-assisted projectile, Munitions2014 Russia-Ukraine WarM549A1 rocket-assisted projectile155 mm high-explosive rocket-assisted projectileBuilt in: United StatesThe M549A1 is a U.S. 155 mm high-explosive rocket-assisted projectile and the TNT-filled follow-on to the earlier Composition-B-filled M549. Army references describe it as a two-piece round with a high-fragmentation steel warhead and integral rocket motor, built to extend howitzer range to about 30 km and later treated as a legacy munition for replacement by XM1113. Conflict reporting also places M549A1 RAP in Ukrainian Bohdana howitzer combat use during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.