Picatinny Arsenal

The Picatinny Arsenal (/ˈpɪkətɪni/ or /ˌpɪkəˈtɪni/) is an American military research and manufacturing facility located on 6,400 acres (26 km²) of land in Jefferson Township and Rockaway Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, encompassing Picatinny Lake and Lake Denmark. The Arsenal is the headquarters of the United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center. It is known for inventing the ubiquitous Picatinny rail, as well as being the Army's center of expertise for small arms cartridge ammunition.

The facility was founded in 1880 as the Picatinny Powder Depot. Soon afterward, the Navy acquired a portion of the arsenal to establish the Lake Denmark Powder Depot, later known as Lake Denmark Naval Ammunition Depot. It manufactured gunpowder until after World War I, at which time the facility also began producing heavy munitions and grew more involved in research and development activities. During World War II Picatinny was a major large-caliber-round loading plant with 18,000 employees. Today, the facility develops new technologies for the US Armed Forces and builds various munitions, weapons and armor systems.