Anduril Industries successfully test fires hypersonic Solid Rocket Motor for the US Navy

Californian company Anduril Industries has conducted two successful live fire tests of its 21-inch hypersonic rocket motor for the US Navy’s Standard Missile Program. This rapid and iterative design phase, which was completed in close collaboration with the Navy, positions Anduril to quickly transition to full scale production of this vital capability, the company says.

The US Navy’s Standard missile family includes variants of the SM-2, SM-3 and SM-6 surface-air and strike missiles, all of which use a 21-inch rocket motor or booster. The RAN operates variants of the SM-2 and SM-6 missiles.

To help meet demand for critical defence technologies, Anduril Industries has invested more than US$75 million ($126 million) in expanding and modernizing its Solid Rocket Motor (SRM) factory in McHenry, Mississippi.

Earlier this year the company announced it had also been awarded US$14.3 million ($23 million) by the US Department of Defense to develop and qualify SRMs demonstrating innovative manufacturing technologies. Late last year Anduril Rocket Motor Systems also successfully conducted a static test firing of its Anduril Denali 18-inch diameter hypersonic booster at McHenry.

With the McHenry facility upgrade on schedule for completion in July of this year, Anduril says it is poised to rapidly scale production to help deliver capability to the fleet.

Australia, under Defence’s Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise (GWEO), will begin assembling high-speed missiles (starting with the GMLRS, or Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System)  at an as yet-undisclosed site this calendar year and is expected also to establish an SRM manufacturing facility  to support locally assembled and then manufactured high-speed weapons. Anduril Australia is believed to be one of the contenders to establish this site, along with Thales Australia, L3Harris/NIOA, Northrop Grumman, local dompany Black Sky Aerospace and possibly others.

Anduril says it is bringing SRM production forward by leveraging single-piece flow, automation, and advanced data analytics to accelerate throughput, improve quality and drive down cost. This successful test validates the manufacturing technologies that Anduril aims to bring to the nation’s industrial base, the company says.

Whereas traditional SRM manufacturers rely on batch processing, a rigid approach which results in underutilization and is subject to disruption, Anduril’s single-piece flow production paradigm eliminates inefficiencies by allowing multiple stages of production to run simultaneously, the company explains. Each station is specialized, always operating, and fully tooled, enabling a continuous, consistent output of SRMs to help meet growing demand.

An independent merchant supplier, Anduril Rocket Motor Systems is at the forefront of advancing hypersonic propulsion, says the company, proving advanced capabilities can be delivered faster and at a lower cost than traditional processes without compromising performance.