Northrop Grumman Constructing Modular Energetics Facility at ABL

Northrop Grumman has begun building a new modular energetics facility in the Naval Industrial Reserve Ordnance Plant at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in West Virginia under a three-year, $178 million contract from Naval Sea Systems Command.

The company operates the ABL, a government-owned facility that produces tactical rocket motors, warheads, munitions, composites, metals, propellants and electronics systems for the United States and its allies.

The new modular energetics facility will increase NIROP’s capacity using advanced manufacturing processes and enhanced rocket motor energetics and inert processing to meet the demand for critical missile components, Northrop said.

According to Frank DeMauro, sector vice president and general manager for weapon systems at Northrop, expanding the operations at ABL will double the energetics capacity by the fall of 2026 and contribute to protecting critical national security infrastructure.

Commenting on the ongoing construction, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va., said ABL is a critical piece of the U.S. defense industrial base and its expansion will help ensure warfighters have the necessary tools to deter aggression and win against adversaries.