Bringing Business to Southern Maryland: NSWC Indian Head Division Adds Millions to Charles County

Bringing Business to Southern Maryland: NSWC Indian Head Division Adds Millions to Charles County

By NSWC IHD Public Affairs NSWC Indian Head Division

INDIAN HEAD, MD -

Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD) obligated nearly $1 billion of contracts in fiscal year 2024, infusing millions of dollars into the Southern Maryland economy. Driving this influx of funds was the multi-year $2.7 billion Energetics Comprehensive Modernization Plan (ECMP), which is the Navy's effort to revitalize its industrial base to meet wartime munitions and energetic demand.

"We haven't seen this amount of funds flowing through Indian Head in over a decade," NSWC IHD Contracts Department Head Renee Brown said. "We positioned ourselves for success by developing an agile workforce, working closely with industry and establishing strategic partnerships and contracts that meet mission needs."

During that time, NSWC IHD more than tripled the amount of funds going to Maryland businesses, with Charles County-based businesses directly receiving over $95 million.

"Supporting our warfighters means ensuring we have an industrial base ready to support their needs," Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said. "Sites like NSWC Indian Head are leading the way in public, private partnerships, research and manufacturing that will help to ensure our service members are prepared for any contingency."

There are hundreds of construction and infrastructure projects underway at NSWC IHD to increase capacity of the defense industrial base with hundreds of additional projects to come.

In addition to serving as a piece of the Department of Defense's national defense strategy, NSWC IHD plays a vital role in its regional, state and local economies. NSWC IHD provided more than $353 million in Maryland salaries during FY24 and remains one of the largest employers in Charles County.

More than 130 businesses operating in technology, research and development and energetics are based out of the seven-and-a-half square mile area from Indian Head to Bryans Road-called the Western Charles County Technology Corridor.

"This command has been relying on Charles County and the surrounding communities to support the warfighter for over 130 years," NSWC IHD Technical Director Ashley Johnson said. "As we continue to modernize, we're just going to get bigger. There are opportunities for our local partners and we are working to make it easier for those who want to do business with us to support our mission. We want to foster growth in the communities that have supported us for more than a century."

As the leaders in the energetics community, NSWC IHD is positioned to achieve sustained investments beyond current demand and ECMP, which will continue providing opportunities for traditional defense contractors, nontraditional partners-including small businesses, non-profit organizations, federally funded research and development centers, universities and colleges, other government agencies, foreign entities-and the civilian workforce.

"You can do things here that you can't do anywhere else in the world," Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer said. "The people who work at this place and run this place are an extraordinary asset for America."

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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