Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD) announced the signing of a Title 10, United States Code, section 2474, Public-Private Partnership (P3) with MBDA Incorporated, May 25.
Under this 20-year agreement, NSWC IHD and MBDA Incorporated will jointly develop, qualify and manufacture propulsion systems and warheads for current and future warfighter needs. This partnership will focus on opportunities to increase the range, lethality, and safety of tactical weapon systems. Manufacturing activities will be performed in existing industrial plant complexes at the command and will help sustain key NSWC IHD energetics manufacturing capabilities while providing safe and effective energetic solutions to the warfighter.
“As the U.S. arm of MBDA, MBDA Incorporated looks forward to collaborating with NSWC IHD to develop and produce new technologies and products at NSWC IHD to provide our warfighters with new capabilities and effectiveness in response to their requirements,” said John Pranzatelli, President & CEO, MBDA Incorporated.
MBDA provides missiles and missile systems for each branch of the armed forces and operates in the United States through MBDA Incorporated, under a special security agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense.
“These types of agreements leverage existing capability, and the transfer of federally developed technology can also have a positive effect on the greater scientific research community, the commercial sector, the economy, consumers and the public,” said NSWC IHD Technical Director Ashley Johnson.
NSWC IHD received Center for Industrial and Technical Excellence designation in May 2014 for depot maintenance and military arsenal activities. This designation provides the legal authority for NSWC IHD to enter into P3 agreements for the developing, manufacturing, testing, maintenance, and storage of energetic materials and ordnance systems. To date, NSWC IHD has entered into six P3 agreements with private industry and is in partnership discussions with several companies.
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.
