Naval Air Warfare Center, Indianapolis (NAWC) is a former

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

facility in Warren Township,

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, U.S. The plant opened in 1942, covering and employing some 3,000 in

avionics Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...

research and development. The facility was closed in 1996 following recommendations from the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission. , the facility is privately owned by Vertex Aerospace and employs about 600.

History

Naval Ordnance Plant, Indianapolis (NOP-I), as it was first called, was one of five inland sites selected in July 1940 by the

United States Department of the Navy The United States Department of the Navy (DoN) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, at the urging of Secretary o ...

Bureau of Ordnance The Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) was a United States Navy organization, which was responsible for the procurement, storage, and deployment of all naval weapons, between the years 1862 and 1959. History Congress established the Bureau in the Departmen ...

for the manufacture of naval ordnance. The other plants were located in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...

;

Center Line, Michigan Center Line is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan, surrounded entirely by the city of Warren. The population was 8,257 at the 2010 census. History Historically, the land that Center Line came to occupy was swamp and wilderne ...

;

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

; and

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

. Construction began in 1941 and the plant became fully operational in 1943. The $13.5 million ($ in dollars) facility was government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO). Lukas–Harold Corporation, a subsidiary of the Norden Company, operated the plant manufacturing

Norden bombsight The Norden Mk. XV, known as the Norden M series in U.S. Army service, is a bombsight that was used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and the United States Navy during World War II, and the United States Air Force in the Korean and t ...

s until September 1945. The plant received the

Army-Navy "E" Award The Army-Navy "E" Award was an honor presented to companies during World War II whose production facilities achieved "Excellence in Production" ("E") of war equipment. The award was also known as the Army-Navy Production Award. The award was cr ...

in 1943, 1944, and 1945. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the site came under full control of the U.S. Navy and the plant continued its manufacturing and repair roles. The plant was renamed Naval Avionics Facility, Indianapolis (NAFI) in 1956, shifting its mission to avionics research and development for all military services. By 1977, the name was changed again to Naval Avionics Center, Indianapolis (NACI). Under its new name, the center designed and built prototype avionics, including

electronic countermeasure An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...

missile guidance Missile guidance refers to a variety of methods of guiding a missile or a guided bomb to its intended target. The missile's target accuracy is a critical factor for its effectiveness. Guidance systems improve missile accuracy by improving its P ...

technologies, and

guided bomb A guided bomb (also known as a smart bomb, guided bomb unit, or GBU) is a precision-guided munition designed to achieve a smaller circular error probable (CEP). The creation of precision-guided munitions resulted in the retroactive renaming of ...

s. The facility's last name change occurred in 1992—Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Indianapolis. On recommendation from the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission, the site was closed in 1996 and transferred ownership to

Hughes Electronics Corporation Hughes may refer to: People * Hughes (surname) * Hughes (given name) Places Antarctica * Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency * Mount Hughes, Oates Land * Hughes Basin, Oates Land * Hughes Bay, Graham Land * Hughes Bluff, Victoria L ...

on January 1, 1997. It was the "largest full-scale

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

of a military facility in U.S. history" at the time. Later that year,

Hughes Aircraft Company The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of Hughes Tool Company. The company was known for producing, among other produ ...

was acquired by

Raytheon Company The Raytheon Company was a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft unti ...

and the facility was renamed the Raytheon Analysis & Test Laboratory (RATL), operating as part of the company's Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS) business unit. In December 2021,

Madison, Mississippi Madison is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 24,841 at the 2010 census. The population is currently over 25,000. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The city of Madison, named ...

-based Vertex Aerospace acquired the facility, now known as Vertex Technology & Training Solutions Division. In March 2022, Vertex announced a planned merger with

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

-based

Vectrus Vectrus is an American defense contractor. They are one of the largest federal contractors. Overview Vectrus is a defense contractor based in Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, ...

to be completed in the third quarter of 2022.

References

{{INMilitary, state=collapsed Systems command installations of the United States Navy Closed installations of the United States Navy Military installations in Indiana Government buildings completed in 1942 1942 establishments in Indiana Military installations closed in 1996 Buildings and structures in Indianapolis Economy of Indianapolis

History

See also

References