“The U.S. Army has awarded West Hartford-based manufacturer Colt’s Manufacturing Co. a $57.2 contract for M4 and M4A1 carbines, according to the U.S. Department of Defense Website. The new award is an extension and increase of a previous Army contract.
The contract, awarded on May 16, is scheduled to be completed by Sept. 18. When orders are placed on the contract, the work will be done in West Hartford, Colt’s Manufacturing spokesperson Eva Svobodová said.
Carbines, or long guns with shortened barrels, are used in military settings by troops including special operations soldiers and paratroopers. Colt developed the M4 platform in the 1980s and has since introduced the M5 and other carbine models.
A Czech company, Česká Zbrojovka Group SE, bought Colt in 2021 for $220 million in cash and 1.1 million shares of its stock.
Czech President Petr Pavel visited the West Hartford plant last year, highlighting the gunmaker’s symbolic and economic importance. Colt sales were up 50 percent since the acquisition and the West Hartford location employed 340 people, company officials said at the time.”
The Colt AR-15 Resource 