Northrop Grumman expanding with $178M Naval contract

Greg Larry, Cumberland Times-News, Md.
·3 min read
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Mar. 30—ROCKET CENTER, W.Va. — Northrop Grumman Corp. officials announced this week that an expansion will take place at the company's Rocket Center facility as a result of a $178 million contract with U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command.

The expansion is designed to meet global security demands and will include adding structures to the Naval Industrial Reserve Ordnance Plant at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory, including construction of a new modular energetics facility, according to a news release.

Northrop Grumman is a global aerospace and defense technology company that manufactures advanced weapons systems, including hypersonic propulsion, armaments, components, missiles, war heads, electronics and interceptors.

"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," Frank DeMauro, vice president and general manager of weapons systems, said via the release.

According to Jarrod Krull, media relations specialist with the company, the expansion building will begin in the coming weeks.

"We will have reviews of proposals along the way as the timeline is negotiated, but the total expansion will take approximately two years," Krull said Thursday. "We are estimating completion in 2026."

Northrop Grumman employs about 100,000 workers in its facilities across the U.S.

Krull said new jobs will likely be created at Rocket Center, but estimating the number is difficult because the process also includes transfers from within the corporation.

"There are a lot of demand signals from Department of Defense for needing more of the solid rocket motors that we make and it's a good position to be in," said Krull. "When we get into actualizing what the end result will be, that will help us understand the staff that we may have to add."

"Expanding our capacity to produce critical munitions and their components ... is critical to ensuring that our men and women in uniform have the tools they need to deter aggression and win," said U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), in the release. "The Allegany Ballistics Laboratory is a critical piece of our defense 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."

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) cited ABL's "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," he said in the release. "This taxpayer-owned facility is building the missiles that keep our forces safe."

In addition to producing rocket components, tank ammunition and medium caliber ammunition, Krull said ABL will produce the latest design of the AARGM and AARGM-ER (extended range) missiles. AARGM is an acronym for advanced anti-radiation guided missile.

Greg Larry is a reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. To reach him, call 304-639-4951, email glarry@times-news.com and follow him on Twitter @GregLarryCTN.