U.S. Navy Awards Northrop Grumman $94.3M Contract for New Missile Rocket Motor

The U.S. Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation a $94.3 million contract to develop and qualify a new 21-inch diameter second-stage solid rocket motor for its extended-range missile programs.

The motor is intended to support operations against fast-moving air, surface, and hypersonic threats.

According to the company, the solid rocket motor is engineered to extend missile range and speed across multiple mission sets, including air warfare, surface warfare, land strike, and ballistic missile defense. The Navy has expressed interest in deploying the propulsion technology across multiple platforms.

Design activities and low-rate initial production of 60 motors for testing and delivery will take place at Northrop Grumman’s Propulsion Innovation Center in Elkton, Maryland.

The company said its expansion efforts include tripling capacity for small tactical solid rocket motors in West Virginia, doubling large motor production in Utah, and increasing manufacturing capacity in Maryland by 25 percent to support future missile and hypersonic propulsion programs.