A local company is making a big bang thanks to a new contract with the U.S. Army.

L-3 BT Fuze Products, 101 N. Queen St., has landed a $13.4 million contract from the U.S. Army Sustainment Command at the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois to manufacture M67 fragmentation hand grenades. Combined with an earlier contract, this agreement means the company will earn more than $30 million in producing the M67.

"This is a major award for our division," Bill Mohler, vice president and general manager of L-3 BT Fuze Products, said in a prepared statement. "In addition to the M67 fragmentation hand grenade production effort, we are actively pursuing additional product enhancements in an effort to provide a better product for the warfighter."

Attempts to reach company officials Monday evening were not successful.

The M67 fragmentation grenade is a common close-combat weapon for soldiers and Marines, according to information from L-3 BT Fuze.

Weighing in at just 14 ounces, the tiny — 2.5 inches in diameter — weapon can be thrown about 40 yards by the average soldier. It is effective within a 50-foot radius, although its shrapnel can strike people and objects up to 750 feet away. Once the safety pin is pulled and the lever released, the grenade has a four-second fuze before exploding.

The M67 replaced the M61 grenade of the Vietnam War and the older MK2 "pineapple" so familiar to World War II-era veterans.

L-3 BT Fuze Products, headquartered in Lancaster, manufactures and supplies weapons and weapons systems to the U.S. military and its overseas allies, including artillery, tank, mortar and infantry-employed ammunition products.