Indian Head, Md. –
Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD) welcomed Maryland Governor Wes Moore to meet with leadership and tour its facilities in Indian Head, Maryland, Oct. 3. Rep. Steny Hoyer also joined the visit, along with local government representatives.
As one of the largest employers in Charles County, Maryland, NSWC IHD is a significant driver of economic activity in Southern Maryland. With approximately $1 billion in contracts awarded in FY24, the command’s influence in Maryland’s economy is critical. NSWC IHD is the Navy’s premier surge energetics manufacturing site with the capabilities and expertise needed for wartime mobilization. The command’s combined research, manufacturing and engineering capabilities allows the Navy to increase munitions production to meet the demands of the current geopolitical climate.
“We’re enabling the defense industrial base. We’re an energetic hub of excellence, and we’re more dynamic than ever,” Capt. Steve Duba, NSWC IHD commanding officer said. “There’s nothing we can’t do in the world of energetics.”
As the nation’s leading design and development agent for underwater warheads and explosives, NSWC IHD is using public-private partnerships to meet its mission and bring economic activity, skilled labor and high-paying jobs to Charles County. There are currently nine active partnerships that will bring in over $1 billion in revenue to the region over the next two decades.
“Federal, state and local partnerships are so important, especially to facilities like Indian Head,” Hoyer said. “You can do things here that you can’t do anywhere else in the world. The people who work at this place and run this place are an extraordinary asset for America.”
“As much as we’ve worked with our federal and U.S. Navy representatives to modernize our arsenal, it’s a natural correlation to also work with our state and local government to accomplish our mission, so we were honored to host Gov. Moore and Rep. Hoyer,” said Ashley Johnson, NSWC IHD technical director.
NSWC IHD is the cornerstone in the Navy’s Energetics Comprehensive Modernization Plan, a $2.7 billion, 15-year modernization plan to bolster its energetics organic Defense Industrial Base.
In addition to the command’s modernization efforts, Johnson and Duba also briefed Moore and Hoyer about the importance of partnerships in building its future workforce through partnering with local schools to increase its pipeline of talent.
Following the visit, Moore said it’s clear the command is “running a sprint and a marathon at the same time.”
NSWC IHD — a field activity of the Naval Sea Systems Command and part of the Navy’s Science and Engineering Establishment — is the leader in ordnance, energetics, and EOD solutions. The Division focuses on energetics research, development, testing, evaluation, in-service support, manufacturing and disposal; and provides warfighters solutions to detect, locate, access, identify, render safe, recover, exploit and dispose of explosive ordnance threats.
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