Pentagon awards new contracts to boost solid rocket motor output

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Sept. 26 announced three contracts aimed at beefing up U.S. production of solid rocket motors (SRMs), a part of the defense industrial base officials say is vulnerable to supply-chain disruption and under pressure from rising demand.

One award, a four-year, $191.3 million contract, went to X-Bow Launch Systems of Albuquerque, New Mexico, for “advanced integrated motor manufacturing,” the Department of War said. The contract, awarded by the Air Force Test Center, “is for the design, build and demonstration of advanced solid rocket motor propellant manufacturing capability,” the announcement said. 

The Air Force Test Center, which runs the Air Force Research Laboratory Rocket Propulsion Division that tests and develops SRMs for missiles and other systems, issued the contract through a competitive broad agency announcement that drew numerous white papers, the department said. 

X-Bow (pronounced “crossbow”) has been positioning itself as an alternative to established SRM suppliers Northrop Grumman and L3Harris, and counts Lockheed Martin as a strategic investor. Founded in 2016, X-Bow uses proprietary 3D-printing techniques to manufacture motors and propellants and has worked with the Air Force Research Laboratory for several years on additive manufacturing technologies for solid propellants. 

Defense Production Act funding

Separately, the department announced two Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III awards totaling $33.5 million to expand SRM production capacity. Americarb received $12.6 million to develop a special material used for insulating rocket nozzles, and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems was awarded $20.9 million to expand nozzle production and become a new supplier of composite rocket nozzles and insulators. 

“To meet the evolving threats of tomorrow, we must expand our capacity to produce the critical subcomponents that underpin our munitions systems,” said Undersecretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey. “By advancing resiliency in the solid rocket motor supply chain, we’re not only strengthening our defense industrial base but also helping to ensure a reliable and scalable supply of the materials and components crucial to our national security.” 

The Pentagon said the DPA was used because the SRM supply chain is constrained and fragile. Solid rocket motors are self-contained propulsion units used for tactical missiles, hypersonic weapons and space-launch boosters, and demand has surged from ongoing military operations in Ukraine and the Middle East.