Anduril and Raytheon test HLG rocket motor for Air-to-Air weapons

Californian company Anduril Industries and Raytheon, an RTX business, have successfully completed a static fire test of an advanced Solid Rocket Motor (SRM) featuring a Highly Loaded Grain (HLG) configuration.

The test was conducted in partnership with Raytheon’s Advanced Technology business under a contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Munitions Directorate. It validated the performance of a heavywall SRM in a HLG configuration built by Anduril.

This represents a major advance in propulsion technology for air-to-air weapon systems, says Anduril. And in response to the increasing global demand for munitions, Raytheon says it has been working with domestic and international partners to enhance US-based rocket motor manufacturing capacity.

By partnering with Anduril, Raytheon is expanding the defence technology ecosystem and addressing critical limitations in the rocket motor supply base, the company says. This collaboration exemplifies Raytheon’s composable weapons strategy, which aims to create more flexible and adaptable missile systems through strategic partnerships and deliver them more quickly.

The HLG design is developed and built by Anduril using technology from Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. Raytheon’s Advanced Technology team provided crucial technical expertise and oversight throughout the development, design, and execution phases of the test activities conducted by Anduril. The design enables significantly greater volumes of energetic propellant, delivering increased specific impulse and enhanced motor performance. These improvements translate directly into extended range and greater tactical advantage for US and allied warfighters, says Anduril.

“Designing and firing a Highly Loaded Grain rocket motor is one of the most technically demanding tasks in the solid rocket motor industry,” said LTG (ret.) Neil Thurgood, Senior Vice President, Anduril Industries. “Achieving this result highlights the strength of Anduril’s engineering team and demonstrates our ability to deliver high-performance propulsion solutions in a domain long defined by a small set of providers.”

Successful static fire testing reflects Anduril’s broader investment in restoring and expanding the US solid rocket motor industrial base. In August, Anduril commissioned its full-scale SRM production facility in McHenry, Mississippi. Backed by more than $75 million in private investment, the facility will bring scale, resiliency, and innovation to allied SRM manufacturing, says Anduril. The company has already test-fired more than 700 SRMs since January 2024.

Anduril Australia is one of five companies vying for all or part of the Australian government’s forthcoming Rocket Motor Manufacturing Complex (RMMC) contract, to be let by Defence’s Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise. A decision on where the RMMC will be sited is expected late this year or early in 2026.