U.S. Navy awards X-Bow $60 million to modernize solid rocket production facilities (Image Credit: Space News)
WASHINGTON — X-Bow Systems has won $60 million in Navy contracts to modernize solid rocket production facilities as the Pentagon looks to upgrade its aging defense manufacturing infrastructure.
The contracts will support improvements at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division in Maryland, using X-Bow’s 3D printing technologies to produce solid rocket motors and propellants. The project is part of the Navy’s $2.7 billion, 15-year modernization plan for its industrial base.
Solid rocket motors are propulsion systems used in missiles, space launch vehicles, and other military applications. The Indian Head facility, located in southern Maryland, has been a key defense manufacturing site since World War II, producing energetic materials and propulsion systems.
“Our work will increase production capacity of solid rocket motors to meet growing military needs,” Jason Hundley, X-Bow’s CEO, said Dec. 3 in a news release. The contracts build on the company’s recent defense deals, including selection to develop solid propulsion for hypersonic missiles and for the Standard Missile program.
X-Bow in 2023 signed a 20-year agreement with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division to cooperate in the development and manufacturing of solid propellant rocket systems.