CHEROKEE, Ala.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AE Shoals, has been selected to participate in a U.S. Navy-led study examining modernization opportunities for America’s energetics industrial base, the production infrastructure behind military explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnic systems critical to national defense.
AE Shoals is working directly with Energetics Technology Center (ETC), Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division and Commander, Naval Surface Warfare Centers to modernize the Navy’s arsenal of energetics. The effort will assess domestic manufacturing vulnerabilities, identify capacity gaps, and develop recommendations to strengthen long-term industrial readiness in support of national security requirements.
AE Shoals brings to this effort the same public-private partnership model that has defined its work at the Barton Campus in northern Alabama, leveraging private capital alongside government investment to accelerate timelines, reduce public risk exposure, and deliver industrial capacity at scale. The Company’s partnership with Hadrian Automation, now producing U.S. Navy submarine components at Cherokee, demonstrates how aligned private sector commitment can compress development cycles and strengthen defense readiness faster than government funding alone. AE Shoals intends to apply this proven framework to energetics infrastructure — attracting private investment to modernize facilities and expand domestic production capacity in support of national security.
AE Shoals’ participation is specifically structured to complement the Navy’s Energetics Comprehensive Modernization Plan (ECMP), a multi-billion dollar, multi-decade initiative to revitalize the organic defense industrial base for explosives, propellants, and munitions manufacturing. Rather than duplicating the work underway at Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division, AE Shoals is positioned to accelerate the ECMP’s objectives by deploying private capital faster than has previously been enabled, expanding industry partner opportunity, strengthening supply chain resilience, and helping make the Navy’s energetics industrial base more capable and more durable for the long term.
“A resilient energetics industrial base is foundational to America’s ability to sustain military readiness and deter adversaries.”
— RADM (Ret.) Leonard “Butch” Dollaga, Managing Director, AE Shoals
“AE Shoals is not coming in to reinvent the wheel. We’re here to bring additional resources, expertise, and industrial capacity to an effort that deserves every advantage we can provide. The mission is too important for anything less than full collaboration.”
— Chris Emerson, Chief Executive Officer, AE Shoals
“NSWC Indian Head Division is entering into public-private partnerships to achieve strategic objectives for the munitions industrial base. With AE Shoals and the Energetics Technology Center, we are jointly exploring the possibilities of bringing private capital to bear to accelerate projects and reduce costs associated with the Navy’s Energetics Comprehensive Modernization Plan. When the study concludes this summer, we intend to utilize those results to bring additional near-term capacity online at the Navy’s Arsenal at Indian Head.”
— CAPT Steve Duba, Commanding Officer, NSWC Indian Head Division
“Meeting today’s defense demands requires new approaches to investing in and modernizing the energetics industrial base. The scale of this challenge calls for technical expertise, commercial collaboration, and innovative investment strategies. We’re excited to work alongside AE Shoals and our Navy partners to advance solutions that strengthen the nation’s energetics industrial base.”
— Will Durant, PMP, CEO & President, Energetics Technology Center (ETC)
AE Shoals brings to this effort its expertise in advanced manufacturing site development, defense-aligned industrial infrastructure, and strategic advisory services, capabilities developed through years of work positioning Cherokee, Alabama as a national model for defense industrial investment.
About AE Shoals
AE Shoals is an industrial development and strategic advisory organization operating from Cherokee, Alabama. Focused on advanced manufacturing, workforce development, industrial infrastructure, and national security-aligned economic growth, AE Shoals develops large-scale industrial campuses and public-private partnerships that strengthen America’s defense industrial base.
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