April 1st, 2024 by WCBC Radio

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is expanding the Naval Industrial Reserve Ordnance Plant at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory (ABL) in West Virginia. The company was recently awarded a $178 million contract from Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to support the expansion. The investment will help to expand the site’s capacity through the construction of a new modular energetics facility.

• The investment will increase rocket motor energetics and inert processing and builds on Northrop Grumman’s proven performance to quickly scale using advanced manufacturing techniques and digital transformation.
• This state-of-the-art facility will use advanced manufacturing processes to configure production for multiple products and consolidate operations to minimize travel, movement of materials and overall downtime.
• The expansion will add to Northrop Grumman’s own investment in rocket motors and increase resiliency by doubling the capacity of the defense supply chain and ensure production capacity to meet the growing demand of solid rocket motors and warheads on time and at affordable scale.

Frank DeMauro, sector vice president and general manager, weapon systems, Northrop Grumman: “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 fuzes, will bolster critical national security infrastructure. 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.”