Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Co, a subsidiary of Ensign-Bickford Industries, Inc., manufactures pyrotechnic detonators, detonating cord, sheet explosives, demolition charges, and shock tubes for defense applications, operating as a prime contractor (67% of recent awards) and subcontractor across multiple defense agencies without set-aside restrictions. Headquartered in Simsbury, Connecticut, the company competes in the full-and-open marketplace and does not hold SBA certifications; all recent awards carry no set-aside designation.

Ensign-Bickford's federal footprint spans 983 awards with combined potential value of $2.17 billion and obligated value of $949 million across the past several years. The top five customer agencies by potential value account for 73% of recent award dollars. The Department of the Army Acquisition Support Center's Program Executive Office Ammunition leads by dollar magnitude with 64 awards worth $926 million, dominated by orders for sheet explosives (M980, M981, M982, M983, M984, M985 series), detonating cord (M456, M458 variants), and munitions components (M11, M14, M15, M19, M21, M23S series) performed primarily in Graham, Kentucky. Naval Sea Systems Command (114 awards, $257.6 million potential value) anchors the Navy customer base through a $17 million single-award IDV for pyrotechnic detonators (MK 165 through MK 169 models) and multiple purchase orders and delivery orders for MK detonator variants, MOSES charge assemblies, flashtubes, and pressure cartridges. The Department of the Air Force Materiel Command (42 awards, $177.4 million potential value) places task orders for MK 161 MOD 1 and related pyrotechnic lead detonators under a $6.5 million single-award IDIQ awarded September 2025, as well as orders for shock tubes and charge assemblies. Naval Supply Systems Command (24 awards, $132.3 million potential value) and the Army Materiel Command Contracting Command at Picatinny Arsenal (33 awards, $103.4 million potential value) round out the major customer set.

The vendor holds four named parent vehicles of significance: a $108.5 million single-award Indefinite Delivery Contract with Army Acquisition Support Center (W15QKN-25-F-0032, ultimate completion March 31, 2028) for sheet explosives covering fourteen configurations and multiple firing orders; a $17 million single-award IDV with Naval Sea Systems Command (N0016424DJR91, ultimate completion July 23, 2025) for pyrotechnic detonators and associated fuzes; a $6.5 million single-award IDIQ with the Air Force (awarded September 30, 2025, ultimate completion September 29, 2030) for MK 161 MOD 1 and MK 163 MOD 0 pyrotechnic lead detonators; and a Basic Ordering Agreement with Naval Sea Systems Command (awarded April 8, 2026, ultimate completion February 28, 2031) for engineering services supporting cartridge and propellant actuated devices. Task-order activity flows through multiple IDIQs including W15QKN04D1018 (14 orders, $18.7 million), FA821422D0001 (13 orders), and W15QKN07D0020 (13 orders, $18.5 million).

Primary performance locations include Simsbury, Connecticut (detonators, pyrotechnic assemblies, explosive transfer lines, shock tubes); Graham, Kentucky (sheet explosives, detonating cord, munitions components); Indian Head, Maryland (pressure cartridges); and Williston, Vermont (engineered products). Recent representative work includes a $5.8 million Army delivery order for detonator cords (ultimate completion April 30, 2027), a $5.17 million PEO Ammunition delivery order for M456 detonating cord Type 1, Class E (August 22, 2024, ultimate completion August 28, 2026), a $5.4 million Naval Sea Systems Command delivery order for MK 166 MOD 0 detonators (September 30, 2024, ultimate completion April 15, 2026), a $7.82 million Army PEO Ammunition delivery order for M19, M21, M23S munitions components (July 30, 2024, ultimate completion February 28, 2027), and a $6.14 million Army delivery order for M19 and M21 munitions (April 16, 2025, ultimate completion March 31, 2028).

Activity peaked in 2024 with 173 awards and has moderated to 100 awards in 2025 and 15 year-to-date in 2026. Twenty-two awards (combined potential value $70.3 million) reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, presenting recompete exposure across ammunition and ordnance platforms.

In subcontractor roles, Ensign-Bickford supplies detonators, initiators, explosive actuators, electromechanical devices, and ordnance assemblies to major defense primes including The Boeing Company (ARES I upper stage development, Flight Test Telemetry and Termination production for Minuteman III, guidance system sustainment, Space Launch System stages), Lockheed Martin (precision strike missile ESAD and related ordnance assemblies, next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile development, electronic safe and arm devices, flexible linear shaped charge), Northrop Grumman (Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent EMD and production, GQM-163A target vehicle components), Raytheon (AMRAAM and SM-3 warhead systems, PATRIOT and Small Diameter Bomb components), and The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (Dragonfly mission parts and materials). Across SCI-reportable service contracts, the vendor reports minimal prime invoicing and roughly 0.1 FTEs in subcontractor capacity as of FY2024 — a measurement limited to service contracts above the $150,000 SCI threshold and thus an incomplete view of the vendor's true federal services or product-delivery scale.

Explosives Manufacturing (NAICS 325920) dominates the award portfolio with 486 awards; Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing (336414) represents 101 awards, and Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences contributes 144 awards, reflecting both product delivery and engineering support across ordnance systems. By PSC, Demolition Materials (1370) account for 386 awards, Bulk Explosives (1375) for 39 awards, and Miscellaneous Ammunition (1330) for 38 awards. The vendor holds a $20.6 million Defense Production Act Title III cooperative agreement for printed circuit board assembly production and testing for hypersonic missiles, underscoring involvement in advanced defense research beyond traditional ordnance.