Kratos wins Oriole rocket motor contract

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will deliver up to 33 Oriole rocket motors under a new undisclosed contract award.  

Work will be carried out at a secure Kratos facility and at various vendor locations, but due to competitive and customer-related considerations, further details are undisclosed.

The Kratos Defense & Rocket Support Services (DRSS) division that won the work has exclusive rights to sell Oriole solid propellant rocket motors for specific market areas including missile defence, suborbital research, and for sounding rockets.  

‘Certain of Kratos’ most valuable assets, in which we have made significant investments over the past several years, include our intellectual property ownership and related licence agreements, which provide Kratos sole source, single source or differentiating competitive positions,’ Dave Carter, president of DRSS, said.

‘The [US] Navy/Kratos partnership with Kratos’ proprietary Oriole solid rocket motor systems has enabled successful launches of a wide-range of sub-orbital vehicles including ballistic missile targets, hypersonic payloads and NASA science tests,’ Eric DeMarco, president and CEO of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, added.

‘We are currently in pursuit of additional hypersonic programme opportunities as the lead prime contractor with this flight proven leading technology system.’

DeMarco added that the company will continue to invest in products and technologies that enhance these proprietary offerings related to suborbital missions, including via Kratos’ turbine technologies division, which is working with government customers in the air breathing hypersonic propulsion area.