Two years after the federal Base Closure and Realignment Commission report raised the specter of mass New England military base closings, the U.S. Navy's presence in Newport, R.I. is expanding -- and attracting tech companies to the Ocean State.

The Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport is growing by about 100 civilian engineers, who are working on projects reassigned from other bases that include radio communications, submarine antennae and towed-array sonar, according to John Riendeau, sector lead for the defense industry at the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp...

...That growth has, over the last two years, encouraged four companies -- Adaptive Methods Inc., AEgis Technologies Group, Alaska Native Technologies LLC, and Paramount Solutions Inc. -- to open or relocate their businesses close to NUWC, Riendeau said. Rhode Island has "fared extremely well in the BRAC process," he said...

...Swenson said moving northeast was a strategic move for AEgis, which is looking to diversify its customer base. Besides the proximity to NUWC, moving to Rhode Island offers access to potential biotech, transportation, academic, and homeland security industry clients, he said.