L3Harris to expand solid rocket motor output with $1.27bn investment

L3Harris Technologies and the Orange County Board of Supervisors have reached an agreement to expand L3Harris’ solid rocket motor production in Orange County, Virginia.  

The company will invest $1.27bn to establish the Virginia Advanced Propulsion Facilities (VAPF), which is expected to more than double the manufacturing space. 

New infrastructure to be built at the Orange County site will support several Department of War (DoW) programmes, L3Harris said.  

Key production operations at the new facilities will include mixing, grinding, casting and final assembly of solid rocket motors. 

In addition, the project is anticipated to generate over 350 jobs in the next five years.

L3Harris’ current site in Virginia, which covers 256,000ft², already functions as the company’s Centre of Excellence for Propellant Research and the manufacture of small to medium-sized solid rocket motors. 

Beyond Virginia, L3Harris is also carrying out upgrades at its facilities in Camden, Arkansas, and Huntsville, Alabama, to increase solid rocket motor output.  

The company said that the continued investment in facilities, equipment, and processes will allow it to increase solid rocket motor production rates by up to four times for various key programmes. 

L3Harris Missile Solutions president Ken Bedingfield said: “L3Harris’ continued investments in solid rocket motor facilities are bolstering manufacturing capacity for key national defence programmes.”

The expansion project comes after L3Harris Technologies secured a contract worth around $400m to power the US Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors in February this year. 

In December last year, L3Harris Technologies was also awarded a follow-on production contract worth up to $200m to supply guided multiple launch rocket system (GMLRS) Insensitive Munition (IM) propulsion units.