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The US Naval Sea Systems Command awarded Northrop Grumman US$178 million (AU$272.3 million) to support the expansion of the Naval Industrial Reserve Ordnance Plant at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in West Virginia.
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The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) funding provides the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory (ABL) the ability to expand its capacity which is increasingly critical to national security as the defence industry experiences a surge in demand for energetic capabilities in response to worldwide events.
This state-of-the-art facility will use advanced manufacturing processes to configure production for multiple products and consolidate operations to minimise travel, movement of materials, and overall downtime.
Frank DeMauro, sector vice-president and general manager, weapon systems at Northrop Grumman, said, “The Navy’s decision to entrust Northrop Grumman with expansion operations at ABL in support of critical missile components such as rocket motors, warheads and fuses will bolster critical national security infrastructure.”
The expansion will add to Northrop Grumman’s own investment in rocket motors and increase resiliency by doubling the capacity of the defence supply chain and ensure production capacity to meet the growing demand of solid rocket motors and warheads on time and at affordable scale.
“The investments we’re making, and our mature production capabilities, will allow us to double our energetics capacity by fall of 2026, meeting recent customer demand and maintaining our signature commitment to quality,” DeMauro added.
These comments were reinforced by US senators for West Virginia, Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, with both senators stressing the importance of this investment and the opportunities it would bring to the constituents of West Virginia.
Senator Moore Capito said, “The Allegany Ballistics Laboratory is a critical piece of our defence industrial base, and I’m proud that such important components of our nation’s advanced weapons are built right here at home in West Virginia. As a member of the Senate appropriations subcommittee on defense, I look forward to seeing the positive impacts of this expansion project on US national security and the state of West Virginia.”
Senator Manchin added, “This announcement is continued evidence of ABL’s critical importance in advancing our national security capabilities. ABL is one of only two sites in the entire country that can produce rocket motor energetics and the only one that is a public-private partnership. This taxpayer-owned facility is building the missiles that keep our forces safe.”
Northrop Grumman is a leading provider of advanced weapons systems including hypersonic propulsion, armaments, components, missiles, electronics and interceptors. The company operates ABL, a national asset that has produced tactical rocket motors, medium and large caliber ammunition, composite structure, mechanical and electronic fuses and advanced weapons for the US and its allies since the 1940s.
