Dive Brief:
- Aerojet Rocketdyne signed a $215.6 million cooperative agreement with the Department of Defense last month to increase the company’s domestic rocket propulsion manufacturing capacity.
- The money will go toward expanding and upgrading Aerojet Rocketdyne’s facilities that produce complex rocket propulsion systems in Camden, Arkansas; Huntsville, Alabama; and Orange County, Virginia, according to a release from the department.
- The agreement was funded through the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, a law that allocates money to support Ukraine’s defense against the invasion from Russia.
Dive Insight:
The upgrades at Aerojet Rocketdyne's facilities include manufacturing processes, consolidating production lines, purchasing equipment and building data-processing systems.
It’ll also increase production and accelerate delivery of multiple Aerojet Rocketdyne rocket systems that the U.S. has provided to the Ukrainian government, per the Department of Defense’s release.
“The Office of Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization is moving forward with appropriate urgency to support strategic industrial sectors crucial to protecting national security,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said in a statement. “This critical investment will modernize rocket propellant and motor production in the United States, in addition to creating technical and skilled labor jobs at multiple domestic facilities.”
Aerojet Rocketdyne has been upgrading, building and expanding its facilities over the past few years, particularly in Huntsville, Alabama, where it established its defense business unit and advanced manufacturing headquarters.
In 2019, the company opened its 136,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility in Huntsville, which produces propulsion products such as rocket components and other hardware for the U.S. defense and space programs.
In November, Aerojet Rocketdyne announced it was expanding its footprint in the city with a 379,000-square-foot manufacturing facility near Huntsville International Airport. The site is expected to come online later this year and will increase the company’s manufacturing capacity to supply U.S. defense production needs.
The company has also made investments outside of Huntsville. In August, the company invested in and opened a 51,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Camden, Arkansas that consolidates various production activities and has advanced equipment including modern tool-up bays, dedicated propellant casting and oven areas and upgraded X-ray systems.