Spurred by growing interest in vehicles such as missiles powered by solid rocket motors, L3Harris Technologies began work on construction of four new solid rocket motor production facilities at the company’s Camden, Ark., site (see image above).
Construction is part of a $215.6 million cooperative agreement between the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) Defense Production Act Title III program and L3Harris to increase domestic rocket propulsion manufacturing capacity. Solid rocket motors run on solid propellants (such as gunpowder).
Ken Bedingfield, President, Aerojet Rocketdyne, L3Harris, said, “Expanding solid rocket motor production in Arkansas is a strategic investment in our nation’s security at a time when defense and deterrence are increasingly critical on the global stage.”
He added, “Our propulsion is a key enabler of the ‘Arsenal of Democracy 2.0,’ and L3Harris is committed to ramping up production to support the defense of our nation, its allies and partners.”
The new buildings will include a 60,000-ft.2 facility to centralize production of a key program and cut the distance motors travel during the manufacturing process by 80%. The expansion includes a dedicated mixer building and complementary propellant processing buildings to support increased motor production.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “Aerospace is Arkansas’s largest export industry, and my administration is working hard to grow Camden’s reputation as an aerospace powerhouse, not just in Arkansas but around the country and the world.”
Regarding location of the new plants in Camden, she noted, “This announcement reinforces Camden’s role in Arkansas’s economy and America’s national defense, and I am grateful for L3Harris’s continued commitment to the Natural State.”
Under the cooperative agreement, L3Harris is modernizing solid rocket motor facilities in two additional states—Orange County, Va., and Huntsville, Ala.
