Indian Head, Maryland — ACMI Federal has secured a $50 million award from Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division to establish a new collaborative innovation ecosystem aimed at strengthening U.S. defense manufacturing and accelerating advancements in energetics production.
As part of the initiative, ACMI announced plans to develop the Maryland Energetics Innovation Hub (MEIH) near Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division. The campus will bring together private industry, academic institutions, and government partners to address key munitions industrial base challenges, improve production efficiency, and advance next-generation energetic material systems.
The project is designed to support both existing defense supply chains and emerging technologies critical to U.S. military readiness. By co-locating research, manufacturing, and commercialization capabilities, MEIH is expected to become a strategic node for scaled production across multiple sites nationwide.
ACMI Founder and CEO John Burer said the project reflects the company’s mission to expand domestic production capacity and align private-sector innovation with national security priorities. He noted the Maryland hub builds on ACMI’s broader strategy of creating industrial campuses that accelerate manufacturing growth and strengthen America’s technological edge.
The innovation hub is already recruiting tenants focused on eight technical priority areas identified by NSWC Indian Head Division, including:
- High-performance computing for manufacturing simulation and control
- Autonomous systems and energetics integration
- Advanced synthesis methods for energetics
- Non-destructive evaluation technologies
- AI-enabled automated processing and assembly
- Novel propulsion and warhead manufacturing methods
- Obsolescence solutions for qualified formulations
- Precision, high-throughput component production
Dr. Trevor Hedman, Chief Technology Officer for Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division, said the initiative will help ensure the center remains at the forefront of energetics innovation while accelerating delivery of critical capabilities to the Navy and the broader defense industrial base.
The Maryland project follows ACMI’s recent groundbreaking of a National Security Industrial Hub in Indiana earlier this year, backed by an initial $75 million award to expand advanced manufacturing capacity.
Construction on the Maryland Energetics Innovation Hub is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2026. Once operational, the campus is projected to generate high-quality jobs, attract significant private investment, and further position Maryland as a growing center for defense innovation and advanced manufacturing.
