By Mike Stone
(Reuters) - U.S. rocket propulsion start-up Ursa Major said on Monday it had signed a contract with the United States Navy to develop and test solid fuel rocket engines in an effort to develop a next generation of solid rocket motor for the Navy's standard missile program and expand and enhance the U.S. rocket motor industrial base.
The agreement is part of a series of prototype engine contracts being awarded by the U.S. Navy as it seeks to address surging demand for such engines and expand the industrial base for manufacturing them.
X-Bow Systems (Crossbow), another new U.S. entrant, has also been awarded a contract, according to a person familiar with the matter. L3 Harris Technologies which owns Aerojet Rocketdyne, the incumbent maker of the Mk 104 solid rocket motors, used aboard the Navy's Standard Missiles, was also awarded a development and testing contract, two people familiar with the situation said. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
X-Bow and L3 Harris declined to comment.
The contract with the Naval Energetics Systems and Technologies (NEST) Program will see Ursa Major develop a new design and manufacturing process for the Navy’s Mk 104 dual-thrust rocket motor, per a statement from Ursa Major.
The Mk 104 is considered the workhorse of the U.S. Navy's Standard Missile programs which are deployed in both offensive and defensive assignments, including the Standard Missile-2, Standard Missile-3, and Standard Missile-6.
Manufacturing of rocket propulsion motors has traditionally been dominated by a limited number of large defense contractors, including Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) and L3 Harris' Aerojet Rocketdyne.
While these prototype contracts awarded by the Navy are small, they can provide a pathway to bigger contracts for upstarts such as Ursa Major and X-Bow should the effort succeed in furnishing the Navy with new enhanced motors.
Ursa Major did not disclose the value of the contract.
The Navy would gain a larger field of manufacturers and bolster supply, important at a time of multiple global flashpoints including Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, as well as potentially bringing down costs through greater competition.
"Our new approach to manufacturing SRMs allows Ursa Major to quickly develop high-performing motors at scale, driving volume and cost efficiencies to address this critical national need," said Ursa Major Founder Joe Laurienti.
Other areas of the U.S. military are aiming to do similar things with motor procurement and manufacturing: Reuters reported in February the Defense Department was close to awarding an engine contract to Ursa Major.