Insider Brief:
- Anduril Industries has landed a $19 million contract to design, build, and test second-stage rocket motors for the U.S. Navy’s Standard Missile-6 (SM-6).
- This is Anduril’s first Pentagon deal for rocket motors.
- In line with its strategic goals, Anduril also announced a $75 million investment to expand its solid rocket motor production facility in McHenry, Mississippi.
Anduril Industries has reportedly landed a $19 million contract to design, build, and test second-stage rocket motors for the U.S. Navy’s Standard Missile-6 (SM-6). This is Anduril’s first Pentagon deal for rocket motors. The SM-6 is a crucial defense tool, intercepting air, surface, and hypersonic missile threats.
Neil Thurgood, a senior vice president at Anduril and a retired Army three-star general, discussed the strategic importance of expanding the supply base for solid rocket motors. He highlighted the growing threats from both state and non-state actors and the need to be prepared to counter these threats.
Palmer Luckey, Anduril’s founder, expressed the company’s ambitions during an interview last August, stating that Anduril aims to compete across a wide range of Defense Department needs, from small-scale systems like the Javelin to larger, intermediate-range missiles. This ambition follows Anduril’s acquisition of Adranos, a solid rocket motor manufacturer, in June 2023.
In line with its strategic goals, Anduril also announced a $75 million investment to expand its solid rocket motor production facility in McHenry, Mississippi. This expansion will boost the facility’s production capacity from 600 to over 6,000 tactical-scale solid rocket motors annually. The increased capacity aims to meet rising demand and establish Anduril as a key supplier of rocket motors in the United States. The development and testing for the SM-6 motors will take place in both Huntsville, Alabama, and McHenry.
Additionally, Anduril is opening a large-scale production facility for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in Rhode Island. The new facility will produce up to 200 AUVs annually and create over 100 jobs in the next five years. This facility will enhance the production of the Dive-LD family of AUVs, which is part of a Defense Innovation Unit project focused on large unmanned undersea vehicles.
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