Kitsap is a Leader in State’s and Nation’s Defense Industry
In the West Sound and beyond, Naval Base Kitsap is a $4 Billion economic engine.
It’s Kitsap’s largest employer, with 20,000 civilian personnel, 11,000 military personnel, and thousands of associated contractors and indirect employees.
One of the largest Navy installations in the US, Naval Base Kitsap (NBK) is home to five distinct missions:
- Puget Sound Naval Shipyard—Located on 179 acres, PSNS is the largest naval shipyard in the country (Kitsap is the third-largest naval base after Norfolk, Virginia, and San Diego).“PSNS” has the only dry dock that can lift a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier on the west coast. Typically the Bremerton waterfront facility hosts two aircraft carriers. The shipyard’s future is bright: “PSNS” is anticipated to see significant investment through the Navy’s 21-year, $20 Billion Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (“SIOP”).
- Naval Submarine Base Bangor – Seated at the edge of Hood Canal and the United States’ longest fjord, Bangor is home to 11 submarines of three different classes—fast attack, ballistic and guided missile— and their approximately 2,000 associated crew.
- Naval Undersea Warfare Center Keyport – Long called “Torpedo Town,” Keyport is also a center for research and development for the Navy. It’s host to the Navy’s first undersea unmanned vehicle squadron, and of the technology-focused private-sector adjacent NavalX Techbridge NW program.
- US Navy Manchester Fuel Depot – Manchester is the Department of Defense’s largest fuel depot. Through 2030, it’s slated for more than $240 million in upgrades as tanks are removed, replaced and rebuilt.
- Naval Hospital Bremerton – The primary military medical facility in the area, the hospital offers a range of primary, surgical and care specialties. It has 36 inpatient beds with the capacity to expand beyond 72. It is parent command for three area Naval Branch Health Clinics, two of which are in Kitsap (in Bangor and Bremerton).
Three major commands of the U.S. Navy – NAVSEA (Naval Sea Systems Command), NAVSUP (Naval Supply Systems Command) and NAVFAC NW (Naval Engineering Facilities Command Northwest) – operate in Kitsap. Click here for a full list of tenant commands located at Naval Base Kitsap.
Several large multi-national defense firms maintain significant operations in Kitsap, including Lockheed Martin, Huntington Ingalls, Raytheon, BAE, and SAIC.
Numerous Kitsap-based small businesses work both directly with government agencies like the Navy and beyond, and partner with prime contractors to deliver government solutions. As a Washington Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) KEDA, delivers government contracting assistance and client services to Kitsap-based small businesses and works both directly with government agencies, and partnes with prime contractors to deliver government solutions. Since starting PTAC outreach in 2007, over 600 Kitsap companies have received assistance through this no cost program. Over the last five years $1.07 billion in government contracts were awarded to KEDA PTAC clients.
Click here to download Naval Base Kitsap Operations and Economic Contributions