A strategic teaming agreement was signed between Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, two leading US defence industrial primes, according to a statement made on 13 August 2024.
The new agreement for the production of solid rocket motors is intended to bring security and resiliency to a vital domestic supply chain.
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“Maintaining a robust and diverse supply chain for solid rocket motors is critical to advancing our 21st Century Security vision for a stronger, more resilient defense industrial base that keeps our customers around the globe ahead of emerging threats,” said Tim Cahill, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fore Control.
Solid rocket motors are solid-based propellants used as fuel to power missiles. Specifically, they consist of a mixture of fuel, oxidiser and binder that are baked to a pencil-eraser consistency.
Initial work will focus on the production of solid rocket motors for the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) and will be performed at the General Dynamics facility in Camden, Arkansas starting in 2025.
This project will expand to a phased planning approach to transition to other missile defence system products further down the line.
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By GlobalData
User demand
As geopolitical tensions continue to sour on the world stage, an uptick in military demand will continue to grow for missiles and their components – and the most important of these are solid rocket motors.
GlobalData intelligence projects the global missiles and missile defence systems market to register a compound annual growth rate of 5.3%, growing from $45.5bn this year to $76bn by 2034.
Given the enduring Russia-Ukraine war – in which Ukrainian forces recently claimed as much as 1,000 square kilometres of enemy territory in a surprise incursion inside Kursk Oblast – GlobalData expects Europe to dominate the sector with a 34.3% share of the global missile market.
US missile production
Camden, Arkansas serves as a major missile manufacturing hub in the US. Many of the nation’s leading defence suppliers are investing heaviliy in their Camden capacity so that they can meet the new level of demand unseen since the Cold War concluded more than a quarter of a century ago.
Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris subsidiary, has allocated millions of dollars of government funds toward its solid rocket motor production in Camden at the end of May. Likewise, the RTX-Rafael joint venture, R2S, initiated the construction of a new manufacturing facility in East Camden.
Meanwhile the latest teaming endeavour will strengthen the existing supply chains of the two companies, beyond the investment put toward their respective missile production capabilities. It follows Lockheed Martin’s creation of its own Solid Rocket Motor Product Center designed to increase the surety of supply for cost effective propulsion systems.
