Infantry Weapons Ammunition

The Missile Industrial Facilities program, outlined in Line Item 1350 of the Navy's FY 2026 Weapons Procurement budget, is dedicated to capital maintenance and modernization of Navy-owned Naval Industrial Reserve Ordnance Plants (NIROPs) that support the Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) program. The primary objective is to ensure that infrastructure critical to the production and maintenance of D5 missile motors remains operational, safe, and capable of supporting extended deployment requirements. This includes facilities located in Sunnyvale, California; Santa Cruz, California; and Bacchus, Utah, which collectively encompass hundreds of acres and dozens of buildings essential to missile manufacturing and support.

The Sunnyvale NIROP consists of 49 acres and 10 buildings, the Santa Cruz NIROP spans 271 acres with 29 buildings, and the Bacchus NIROP covers 583 acres with over 130 buildings and 13 miles of roads. These facilities are integral to the D5 motor production process and must be maintained in a service-ready state until the planned retirement of the D5 missile. Many of these buildings are more than 50 years old and have exceeded their original design life, necessitating ongoing capital maintenance projects to address aging infrastructure and deferred safety-related repairs.

One of the key goals of the Missile Industrial Facilities line item is to execute safety-related maintenance projects that were previously deferred due to the lack of a formal program for D5 missile re-motoring. With the Navy's recent decision to extend the operational life of the D5 missile through re-motoring, these facilities require upgrades and repairs to ensure they can safely support increased production and sustainment activities. The justification for this funding is rooted in the need to maintain a reliable and secure industrial base for strategic missile production, which is a cornerstone of the Navy's deterrence capabilities.

For FY 2024 and FY 2025, the budget allocates funds for recurring capital maintenance at these NIROP sites. These resources are used for hardware costs associated with essential repairs, upgrades, and modernization efforts. Maintenance projects typically include structural repairs, safety system upgrades, utility improvements, and modernization of production equipment to support current and future missile manufacturing needs.

Beginning in FY 2026, funding for the Missile Industrial Facilities program will be transferred from Line Item 1350 to Line Item 1250. This transition is part of a broader Department of Defense initiative to consolidate program elements and budget line items, as recommended in the DoD PPBE Reform Implementation Report. The consolidation aims to strengthen and simplify the alignment of strategy, budget, and capability, fostering innovation and promoting efficiency across the Navy's missile industrial base.

The Missile Industrial Facilities line item does not include procurement of new missile systems or initial spares; rather, it is focused exclusively on the sustainment and readiness of the industrial infrastructure. The program is not designated as a Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP) or Major Automated Information System (MAIS), indicating its role is strictly in support equipment and facilities rather than direct weapon system procurement. Continued investment in these facilities underscores the Navy's commitment to maintaining a robust and resilient supply chain for strategic missile production.