NSWC Carderock Division
Tucked just off MacArthur Boulevard behind layers of fencing and forest, the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Carderock looks more like the set of a spy thriller than a research lab. But inside this campus, engineers are designing the next generation of submarines, battleships, and maritime technology for the U.S. Navy. And they’ve been doing it for over 80 years.
Carderock is where nearly every U.S. Navy ship begins its life. Not in a shipyard, but in a tank of water the size of several football fields.
Think of it as the Silicon Valley of Ships: experimental, high-tech, slightly mysterious, and surprisingly fun.
🧪 So What Actually Happens There?
Behind those restricted-access gates, Carderock operates like a high-tech playground for naval engineers. Here are some of their greatest hits:
They 3D print submarines.
In a world first, Carderock engineers printed a 30-foot unmanned submarine hull, the Navy’s largest 3D-printed asset. It’s a glimpse into a future where ships may be printed, not built.They crash-test boats in massive indoor oceans.
Carderock’s signature facility is the David Taylor Model Basin, home to three colossal water tanks that let engineers simulate real ocean conditions without ever going outside.They outfit Navy dogs for combat.
Custom-designed K9 gear includes spine-safe harnesses, noise-reducing earmuffs, and helmets that let working dogs rappel out of helicopters safely and comfortably.They host human-powered submarine races.
Every two years, student-built pedal-powered submarines race through Carderock’s testing basins in an event that feels more like an episode of MythBusters than a naval competition.
David Taylor Model Basin
🔬 A Playground for Mad Maritime Scientists
Carderock’s culture is half defense lab, half maker space.
This is where engineers have the freedom to experiment (sometimes wildly) and where ideas that seem impossible today become standard fleet tech tomorrow. Their innovation résumé includes:
Super-stealth hull designs that help submarines slip by undetected
Bulbous bows that make ships move faster with less fuel
Roomba-style flight deck bots that clean aircraft carriers so sailors don’t have to
Reverse osmosis systems that let ships turn seawater into drinking water mid-ocean
🌐 Carderock’s National Footprint
Carderock’s influence extends far beyond Potomac.
The Maryland campus is the headquarters, but specialized research facilities across the country tackle challenges too niche or too complex to be done anywhere else.
Memphis, TN – Home to one of the world’s top water tunnels, used for testing propellers and reducing cavitation (the bubbling that can give away a sub’s position).
Bayview, ID – Submarines get stealth-tested in Lake Pend Oreille, one of the quietest places on Earth.
Norfolk, VA – Engineers design and test high-speed boats and next-gen unmanned surface craft.
Carderock is like a research constellation with each location focused on a different corner of the Navy’s future.
🏗️ Inside the Giant Ocean Lab
At the heart of the Carderock campus is the David Taylor Model Basin, a truly jaw-dropping set of facilities:
High-Speed Basin – For testing fast boats and hull shapes at high velocity
Deep Water Basin – For replicating the ocean’s depths
Shallow Water Basin – For studying riverine and coastal operations
MASK Basin – Capable of simulating hurricane-level wave action
Rotating Arm – Spins model ships through water in precise arcs to test turning, stability, and propulsion
These tanks hold over 36 million gallons of water—and occasionally, they get drained and cleaned by hand, in what might be the world’s most intense deep-cleaning job.
The MASK Basin aka “The Indoor Ocean”
🧒 From Battleships to Summer Programs
Every other year, Carderock’s giant basin becomes a racetrack for the International Submarine Races, where student teams from around the world compete to see who can pedal the fastest human-powered sub through 100 feet of underwater track.
Think BattleBots, but with scuba gear and hydrodynamics.
Just a few weeks ago in July 2025, Team OMER from École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS), Québec, Canada, shattered the international one‑person, propeller-powered submarine speed record using their submarine, Omer 13, clocking in at 7.682 knots during the 18th ISR competition.
The vessel’s standout features included a 3D‑printed hull, an adaptive propeller with automatically adjustable pitch, and ergonomically fit to enhance speed and control.
“We didn’t believe it. We went crazy,”
This event shows that Carderock isn’t just a Navy lab, it’s an incubator for young talent, innovation, and international collaboration.
Carderock also runs STEM competitons and outreach programs with area schools, inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers with the kind of tech most people never get close to.
International Submarine Races 2025
🧭 Why It Matters to Potomac
Carderock is one of the largest employers in the region, with 4,000+ people working across more than 40 engineering specialties.
And even though you can’t take a public tour or peek inside the basins, the work being done there impacts everything from national security to the environment to your kid’s science class.
Also, let’s not overlook the obvious: they test futuristic ships in a giant indoor ocean hidden in the woods of Potomac. That alone earns it a mention by Potomac Loop.
