CULPEPER, Va. – L3Harris Technologies has broken ground on five new solid rocket motor facilities in Virginia. The new facilities will incorporate a modular factory design, robotic flex cells, automated, progressive casting and improved handling and assembly throughout the production line.
Ken Bedingfield, Aerojet Rocketdyne’s new president and CFO at L3Harris, said, “L3Harris’ growth in Virginia is another solid example of how we’re expanding our rocket motor manufacturing infrastructure to support the nation’s defense propulsion needs. Made possible through a Defense Production Act Title III cooperative agreement, this expansion will complement an existing 256,000 square feet of manufacturing space, supporting some of the most advanced propulsion research and production in the world.”
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L3Harris’ site in Virginia hosts the company’s Center of Excellence for Propellant Research and Small to Medium-sized Solid Rocket Motor Production. The expansion includes a 12,000 square foot, state-of-the-art solid rocket motor cast and assembly facility, as well as a control room, facilities to support mixing and grinding operations and upgrades to the site’s motor testing capabilities.
The consolidated cast and assembly building will centralize production of a critical program under one roof, reducing the distance motors travel during manufacturing by 90%.
L3Harris is also modernizing and expanding its solid rocket motor production in two other states. The company is constructing new solid rocket motor facilities in Camden, Arkansas, and is transitioning production of inert components for critical missile systems to align with the sites’ core competencies in Huntsville, Alabama.