Northrop Grumman yesterday opened a state-of-the-art production and assembly center in Rocket Center, West Virginia, to scale delivery of advanced strike missiles.
The new Missile Integration Facility (MIF) is the latest expansion of the Naval Industrial Reserve Ordnance Plant at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory (ABL) and builds on the company’s ability to scale production and rapidly manufacture critical capabilities for high-rate production programs.
Plant 4 and the MIF provide ABL the ability to expand production capacity, which is increasingly critical to national security as the defense industry experiences a surge in demand for advanced weapons and energetic capabilities. The expansion will enable Northrop Grumman to increase the output of critical capabilities to replenish stockpiles that support the U.S. and its allies.
Spanning 113,000 square feet (almost the size of two football fields), the facility accelerates production of the U.S. Navy’s Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile — Extended Range (AARGM-ER), a high-speed air-to-ground missile.
Consolidating production, assembly, testing and shipping under one roof, while using digital manufacturing technologies, the MIF will enable Northrop Grumman to deliver 300 strike missiles per year.
Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Rep. Riley M. Moore (R-WV-2) and local officials joined Frank DeMauro, vice president and general manager, weapon systems, and other Northrop Grumman leaders in cutting the ribbon on the company’s new Missile Integration Facility at Allegany Ballistics Laboratory.Northrop Grumman
To meet growing demand, Northrop Grumman has invested more than $1 billion to build capacity and capability for weapons and missile components, including solid rocket motors. As a leading propulsion provider, Northrop Grumman is investing in facilities, capacity and technologies to produce effective advanced weapons and solid rocket motors affordably at scale. The opening of Plant 4 at ABL brings to over 1 million sq feet the amount of new and renovated manufacturing space the company has added in the past seven years.
