Missile support facility ground breaking scheduled at NSWC Dahlgren division

Staff, Seapower Magazine
14 March 2016
DAHLGREN, Va. — The Navy will break ground on its new Missile Support Facility at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) March 18, a Naval Sea Systems Command spokesman announced in a March 14 media invitation.
Once completed, the facility will house Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) program offices and laboratories at NSWCDD.
The facility will feature office space for about 320 scientists, engineers, and support staff who develop, test and maintain the SLBM fire-control and mission-planning software at the command’s Strategic and Computing Systems Department. The building and renovation will also include space for laboratories that contain SLBM shipboard systems equipment.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., and Vice Adm. Terry Benedict, director of the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs, are scheduled to speak at the event. NSWCDD leadership — including Commanding Officer Capt. Brian Durant and NSWCDD Technical Director Dennis McLaughlin — are scheduled to be in attendance.
The SLBM systems have provided a reliable, secure strategic deterrent for the nation since 1960. NSWCDD has been a key member of the SLBM team from the beginning, and will continue throughout the next
generation of submarine — the new Ohio-Replacement Program.
The Missile Support Facility Replacement is a replacement of the Computation and Analysis Laboratory Facility. The contract was awarded to Mortenson Construction, headquartered in Minneapolis, in September. The $22.75 million contract includes the 57,646-square-foot Missile Support Facility in addition to renovation of approximately 5,600 square feet in the existing building, and the demolition of another building.