Allegany Ballistics Laboratory (ABL) located in
Rocket Center, West Virginia
Rocket Center, West Virginia is the site of a government installation known as Allegany Ballistics Laboratory, part of the Naval Sea Systems Command which is currently operated by Northrop Grumman. Rocket Center shares a ZIP Code with Keyser but ...
, is a diverse
industrial complex employing some 1,000 people across . The facility is a member of the
Federal Laboratory Consortium The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) is a U.S.-based nationwide network of federal laboratories that provides a forum to develop strategies and opportunities to help transfer laboratory mission technologies into commercial ...
and is operated by
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...
(former Alliant Techsystems) under contract with the
Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA).
Current operation
The ABL facility is a manufacturer of advanced
composite structures for the
F-22 Raptor
The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, th ...
and other aerospace projects. ATK also operates 6 of 11 known
advanced fiber placement machines. In addition the site produces about 80 military products, including:
30mm shells for
Apache helicopters,
training grenades,
fuze-proximity sensors,
mortars
Mortar may refer to:
* Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon
* Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together
* Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind
* Mortar, Bihar, a villag ...
and
warhead
A warhead is the forward section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, torpedo, or bomb.
Classification
Types of warheads include:
* Expl ...
s, and
tank ammunition.
Also on the site is the Robert C. Byrd Hilltop Office Complex and the
Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Flexible Manufacturing. At the Robert C. Byrd Complex on the hill companies have rented space to do secure research, among them
IBM (which recently acquire
National Interest Security Company who is digitizing data on hurricane cleanup,
avian influenza
Avian influenza, known informally as avian flu or bird flu, is a variety of influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds. , and weather records.
It also plays a significant role in
continuity of government
Continuity of government (COG) is the principle of establishing defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of a catastrophic event such as nuclear war.
COG was developed by the British government befo ...
operations.
History
ABL was established in 1944 on the site of a former ammunitions plant on land owned by the Army. After World War II, the plant was transferred to the
Office of Scientific Research and Development
The Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) was an agency of the United States federal government created to coordinate scientific research for military purposes during World War II. Arrangements were made for its creation during May 1 ...
and was involved in building propulsion devices and engines for the solid-rocket industry.
Later in the decade, ownership of ABL was transferred to the Navy office of
Naval Sea Systems Command. Since 1946 it was operated by the
Hercules Powder Company. In 1956 when it was producing
Altair
Altair is the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila and the twelfth-brightest star in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation Alpha Aquilae, which is Latinised from α Aquilae and abbreviated Alpha Aql ...
rocket stages for
Vanguard rocket
The Vanguard rocket was intended to be the first launch vehicle the United States would use to place a satellite into orbit. Instead, the Sputnik crisis caused by the surprise launch of Sputnik 1 led the U.S., after the failure of Vanguard TV-3 ...
s, ABL was, "A subsidiary of the Navy operated by the Hercules Powder Company." The Navy now contracts out operation of the facility to
ATK (Alliant Techsystems), a $3.4 billion corporation based in
Edina, Minnesota
Edina ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States and a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis. The population was 53,494 at the 2020 census, making it the 18th most populous city in Minnesota.
Edina began as a small farming and mil ...
.
In 1998, ATK's Conventional Munitions Group was selected by
Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems to produce the fiber-placed composite pivot shaft assembly for the
F-22 Raptor
The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, th ...
air-dominance fighter. Work on the production program was performed at Alliant's automated fiber placement production facility at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory before the production of F-22 aircraft ended in 2012. The fiber placement facility was constructed as part of a $177 million renovation and restoration program funded by the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), which owns the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory.
Local Perception
As for the ecological impact, it is believed the facility contributes greatly to the pollution of the adjacent
North Branch Potomac River
The North Branch Potomac River flows from Fairfax Stone in West Virginia to its confluence with the South Branch Potomac River near Green Spring, West Virginia, where it turns into the Potomac River proper.
Course
From the Fairfax Stone, th ...
. While this is unsupported, the company does have numerous runoff sites. Also, the groundwater in the surrounding community has been verified to contain many contaminants, although actions have since been taken to reduce these contaminants, and are part of a constant monitoring process.
West Virginia, Allegany Ballistics Laboratory (US Navy) Site, Current Site Information (NPL Pad) , Mid-Atlantic Superfund , US EPA
Companies
The following privately owned ventures are located on the ABL site:
See also
* Barton Business Park
Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland, Allegany County, Maryland. It is the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a ...
* North Branch Industrial Complex
* Upper Potomac Industrial Park
References
External links
ATK: Alliant Techsystems
Robert C. Byrd Institute
FLC: Federal Laboratory Consortium
FLC: Federal Laboratory Consortium: Mid-Atlantic
National Interest Security Company
{{coord, 39, 33, 40, N, 78, 50, 5, W, type:landmark_region:US-WV, display=title
Ballistics
Science parks in the United States
Business parks of the United States
Buildings and structures in Mineral County, West Virginia
Military installations in West Virginia
Military Superfund sites
Superfund sites in West Virginia
Continuity of government in the United States