Raytheon awards Northrop, Nammo solid rocket motor development contracts

A Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block 1B interceptor missile is launched from the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) during a Missile Defense Agency and U.S. Navy test in the mid-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo/Released)

SEA AIR SPACE 2025 — Raytheon, maker of the Navy’s Standard Missile, announced today it has awarded contracts to Northrop Grumman and Norwegian defense firm Nammo that could allow each to develop their own Mk 72 solid rocket motor production line.

The aim of the contract is for Northrop and Nammo to prove they can build a solid rocket motor that meets requirements, and produce them at scale, Raytheon parent company RTX said in a news release. Under the contract, the companies will “verify design requirements and specifications” for the Mk 72, culminating with a Systems Requirements Review that will further refine the each company’s design concept.

Currently, the Mk72 is built by L3Harris, but constraints on the wider solid rocket motor supply chain —comprised in the United States solely by L3Harris and Northrop — have led weapons makers such as Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to seek out new sources.

“These contracts are an important step toward increasing capacity and source options to meet global demand for critical defense systems, such as Standard Missile,” said Barbara Borgonovi, president of Raytheon’s naval power division. “In addition to dual sourcing, we’re doubling down with support and oversight of our supply base and making strategic investments to address constraints and reduce risk so we can deliver more capabilities, faster.”

Nammo and Northrop are not the only company angling to become a new provider of the Mk72. Last June, the Navy awarded startup X-Bow Systems contracts to develop a Mk 72 booster and Mk 104 dual-thrust solid rocket motor.

Raytheon and Nammo previously announced a plan to expand Nammo’s manufacturing facility in Perry, Fla., to accommodate the production of solid rocket motors, the companies said in May 2024. Nammo currently provides solid rocket motors for the AMRAAM, Sidewinder and Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile using its facilities in Norway, the company stated.

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