Avio, Lockheed sign agreement for solid rocket motor production

WASHINGTON — The US arm of Italian rocket maker Avio will build and qualify solid rocket motors for Lockheed Martin’s Extended Range GMLRS and the Precision Strike Missile, paving the way for Avio to become a full-time supplier, the companies announced today.

The strategic cooperation agreement will provide Lockheed a second motor source for PrSM and an additional source of motors on the popular GLMRS round once those motors are fully qualified, Avio USA CEO Jim Syring told Breaking Defense in an interview.

“They’re essentially reserving capacity,” he said. “It’s a win for us and it’s a win for Lockheed.”

Tim Cahill, Lockheed’s president of its missiles and fire control, said in a news release that the agreement “enables us to speed up production of essential capabilities, ensuring our customers maintain their competitive edge against emerging threats.”

Solid rocket motors have historically been a chokepoint for the munitions industry after decades of consolidation left L3Harris and Northrop Grumman as the only two domestic providers. New entrants — such as Anduril, Ursa Major and X-Bow — have entered the market and are currently developing and testing motors, but the qualification process can take years.

Although Avio is a longtime producer of solid rocket motors in Europe, its US-based subsidiary is a relative newcomer. It broke ground on its first American manufacturing plant in September, with the 900,000-square-foot plant in Hurt, Va., scheduled to start building motors in 2029.

Avio’s status as a legacy solid rocket motor maker in Europe will give its American arm several advantages that new entrants lack, Syring said. Like its parent company, Avio USA will make certain components like cases and nozzles in house, meaning that it will not have to rely on an already stressed supply chain.

The company’s manufacturing experience also has benefits for training. One selling point for locating the production plant in southern Virginia was the access to trade workers like mechanics, electricians and welders, Syring said. However, all of those employees will need to undergo specialized training in order to take on the demanding job of making rocket motors.

“We’ll be able to take the people that have that technical discipline and experience and train them to be solid rocket motor manufacturing experts, and what we’ll do is we will take advantage of our parent company in Italy to send them over to Italy for three to four months to train in an actual factory,” he said.

Ahead of production, Avio has already begun putting raw materials like steel on order, with plans to purchase equipment with long lead times — like industrial-size mixers, ovens and x-ray machines — by the end of the year, Syring said.

Beyond its work on GMLRS and PrSM, Avio is also conducting engineering work for building the Mk104 solid rocket motor used for Raytheon’s Standard Missile family. The company is slated to complete its critical design review for that motor in spring 2027, Syring said.