To amass cheap rockets, US Army picks Anduril to develop solid motor
The U.S. Army has chosen Anduril Rocket Motor Systems to develop a new 4.75-inch solid rocket motor for long-range precision rocket artillery, the company announced today.
Anduril Industries moved into the solid rocket motor business when it acquired Adranos in 2023, which allowed it to start supplying solid rocket motors to companies that make hypersonic weapons, missiles and other propulsion systems.
While the rocket motor industry has grown — and now includes L3Harris' Aerojet Rocketdyne, Northrop Grumman and Nammo — there is still a shortage of solid-rocket motors to outfit all of the missiles. The U.S. has ramped up its missile production to resupply its own stockpiles after providing weapons to Ukraine and to ensure it has enough to handle future contingencies that may demand the firepower.
'Ongoing global conflicts have only underscored the urgency of increasing industry capacity,' retired Army Lt. Gen. Neil Thurgood, Anduril Industries' senior vice president, wrote in a company blog post. 'SRMs are essential components of munitions and hypersonic weapons, making it critical to scale production and replenish this depleted resource.'
Earlier this week, Army Futures Command Commander Gen. James Rainey said the service's exquisite and precise weapon systems are necessary to penetrate deep into enemy territory and go up against enemy air defenses, but there is also a need for 'boxes of rockets, cheap rockets, that we can fire in the hundreds.'
When it comes to air defense or offensive long-range fires, 'we are seeing companies that are coming in at price points, the ability to scale. It's very promising and present,' Rainey said at the McAleese and Associates' defense conference in Arlington, Virginia.
'Anduril's solution will increase magazine capacity while maintaining the range, effectiveness, and lethality required on today's battlefield,' Thurgood said in his post.
The 4.75-inch size 'potentially' allows for up to 30 guided rockets to be configured in a single High Mobility Artillery Rocket System pod, Thurgood said, 'drastically improving the loadout within existing launcher constraints.'
Anduril 'is one of the first companies developing rocket motors in this form factor to meet the Army's need for increased volume and affordability,' he added.
The company will build and test rocket motors using both traditional aluminized propellant and its 'advanced ALITEC fuel,' according to Thurgood. ALITEC improves munition range in a smaller package while using less power, he noted.
'We anticipate that ALITEC-powered SRMs will achieve ranges comparable to significantly larger rocket motors, providing long-range strike capability in a smaller and more efficient design,' Thurgood writes.
Additionally, the company is using its recent $14.3 million Defense Production Act award to improve manufacturing methods, including 'applying single-piece-flow manufacturing, powered by bladeless high-speed mixer.'
The company is also investing $74 million internally to produce large amounts of SRMs at a lower cost, Thurgood said.
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