The US Navy has awarded Ursa Major $137 million to develop solid rocket motors for two missile programs as it works to expand domestic missile production capacity.
The two contracts cover the Compact Air-to-Air Missile (CAAM) and the Naval Modular Missile (NMM) medium-range variant. The awards will support the design and qualification of tactical solid rocket motors.
For CAAM, Ursa Major is developing a 7-inch (17-centimeter) motor designed to deliver the required performance within the missile’s limited internal volume and at a low unit cost. The motor uses the company’s Highly Loaded Grain technology, which allows more propellant to be packed into a given volume.
The company will also develop a 10-inch (25.4-centimeter) motor for the NMM medium-range variant. The motor is intended for high-rate production and compatibility with existing Navy shipboard launch systems.
“Production is the bottleneck in missile programs right now, and that’s the part we’ve been building for,” Jason Meredith, president of solid missile systems at Ursa Major, said.
US Expands Solid Rocket Motor Production
Ursa Major is part of a broader US defense effort to expand solid rocket motor production after years of limited manufacturing capacity became a constraint on missile output.
Avio USA broke ground in September on a facility in Virginia that is expected to produce thousands of solid rocket motors annually. The company plans to begin production in 2029, with the plant supporting US tactical missile programs.
The same month, Northrop Grumman opened it new Propulsion Innovation Center in Elkton, Maryland that is expected to employ about 250 engineers.
Earlier, in June, L3Harris Technologies invested $25 million to expand its Huntsville, Alabama, manufacturing footprint for solid rocket motor production.