Northrop Grumman opens propulsion center in Maryland

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) today opened its new Propulsion Innovation Center in Elkton, Maryland, a 57,000-square-foot facility that will house 250 engineers advancing propulsion technologies for U.S. and allied defense programs. The center strengthens the company’s solid rocket motor capacity across its propulsion manufacturing network and is expected to create additional opportunities for highly skilled engineering and manufacturing jobs in Maryland.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore joined Northrop Grumman leaders, employees, local officials and industry partners at a ribbon-cutting ceremony commemorating the opening. “Maryland is the best place to build and hire. That’s why we’re proud to have important partners, like Northrop Grumman, who are choosing Maryland - because of everything our state has to offer,” Moore said.

The Propulsion Innovation Center is part of a wider $100 million investment by Northrop Grumman at its Elkton site to expand capacity for hypersonic air-breathing propulsion and solid rocket motors. Alongside other new construction, modernization and infrastructure improvements underway at the 550-acre Propulsion Systems & Controls site, the new center will increase on-site solid rocket motor design and manufacturing capacity by 25% and support more than 30% growth in staffing.

Northrop Grumman provides end-to-end production of solid rocket motors and advanced propulsion systems used in hypersonic and tactical missile applications. Across its six major production sites, the company’s solid rocket propellant capacity currently stands at roughly 30 million pounds annually and is projected to expand to nearly 50 million pounds per year by 2028.

Over the past seven years, Northrop Grumman has invested more than $2 billion in munitions-related technology and facilities, including more than $1 billion in advanced manufacturing facilities across the United States aimed at increasing solid rocket motor and missile-component production. The company produced approximately 13,000 motors in 2024 and plans to boost annual output to more than 25,000 motors by 2029.

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