The project supports the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) and will replace nine buildings that received damage from Hurricane Michael in October 2018.

“The awarding of the Littoral Innovation and Prototyping Facility will improve NSWC PCD’s long-term ability to meet national defense needs by providing facilities for collaborative science and technology (S&T) and rapid prototyping in multiple technical domains,” said Dr. Peter Adair, NSWC PCD technical director. “These facilities will enable delivery of innovative solutions for warfighting capability areas in the littoral battlespace.”

The Littoral Innovation and Prototyping Center will enhance collaborative and equipment capabilities during Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) for Mine Warfare (MIW) and Expeditionary Warfare (EXW) operations taking place in the littoral environment, both key mission areas for NSWC PCD.

The work provides for construction of a 54,475 square-foot laboratory, and support space capable of housing workspace and laboratories for engineers and scientists. The facility will consolidate geographically dispersed buildings, increasing inter-program research interaction while also reducing maintenance and repair costs.

The facility will meet Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) and will be equipped with high bays with an overhead crane, loading dock, large tank room, and elevator. Laboratory spaces will be outfitted for technology development in the areas of: advanced sensors; biosciences; communications; computational sciences; platform-based cybersecurity; big data analytics; autonomy; robotics; machine learning; artificial intelligence; automatic target recognition; and predictive methodologies. Development of these capabilities will contribute to future success of NSWC PCD’s mission of ensuring warfighting dominance in the littoral battlespace and coastal areas.

Work will be performed in Panama City, Florida, and is expected to be completed by January 2026.