US Navy contracts X-Bow to boost rocket motor manufacture

The US Navy (USN) has tapped X-Bow Systems for Phase One design, development and long-lead procurement to advance the readiness and capacity of the energetics industrial base for the manufacture of SRMs.

X-Bow is a non-traditional producer of advanced SRMs and defence technologies. Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD) announced on 3 December that it had awarded five contracts to X-Bow totalling US$60 million.

The US Government is looking to deal with the issue of massive demands for SRMs and these contracts are an attempt to increase supply.

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In response to the supply issue, in August, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics signed a strategic teaming agreement for the production of SRMs. In June, Raytheon announced it had signed a deal with Avio to “to initiate and progress the development of critical SRMs for defence applications”.

As part of the USN’s $2.7 billion 15-year modernisation plan for NSWC IHD, this work is intended to help unlock, expand and modernise the nation’s energetics manufacturing capabilities. Additionally, the plan aims to improve the organic industrial base’s ability to meet solid propellant rocket motor propulsion needs.

Under this initial phase, X-Bow will design, develop and procure long-lead equipment to modernise and automate several capabilities at Indian Head.

These capabilities include inert preparation facilities, propellant casting, automated propellant ingredient feeding, live rocket motor processing, and prototype premixing and curative slurry operations.

X-Bow said it has already successfully completed several milestones, including completion of the design phase for inert preparation facility and automated propellant ingredient feeding facility.

The USN has also awarded X-Bow both the Mk 72 booster and Mk 104 dual-thrust SRM development contracts to further enhance performance and increase capacitance for the service’s Standard Missile programme.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy also selected X-Bow to provide boost propulsion for the navy-designed hypersonic All Up Round utilised by the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike weapon system. The contract also includes work for the US Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon System.

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