Northrop Grumman Corporation announced a series of successful static fire tests of a new 21-inch second-stage solid rocket motor (SRM) in support of the U.S. Navy’s future extended-range capability needs. Performed at the advanced propulsion production facility in Elkton, Maryland, the tests underscore the company’s commitment to delivering innovative advanced propulsion solutions for our customers’ most critical missions.

The SRM fulfills the U.S. Navy’s request for a low-risk, rapidly developed solid rocket motor solution to enable the fielding of an extended-range, hypersonic capability for the Navy.

The rapidly developed, high-performance 21” motor also can significantly extend range and speed in multiple missions across multiple platforms, including air warfare, surface warfare, land strike, and ballistic missile defense.

Gordon LoPresti, senior director, propulsion systems and control, Northrop Grumman: “Northrop Grumman’s newest solid rocket motor demonstrates our continued leadership in rapid, next-generation capability development. The SRM test fires were accomplished in less than a year, from design to demonstration, and give us a unique, affordable, versatile extended-range capability to help the U.S. Navy deter and defeat air, surface and land threats.”

As the nation’s preeminent propulsion provider, Northrop Grumman is investing in facilities, capacity, and technologies to produce effective advanced weapons and solid rocket motors affordably at scale. To meet growing demand from customers, Northrop Grumman has invested to build capacity and capability for weapons and missile components, including solid rocket motors. With over six decades of proven performance and more than one million solid rocket motors delivered. Northrop Grumman is a trusted provider of large, medium, and small SRMs and advanced propulsion systems that deter and defend against threats, deliver payloads, and enable discovery in space. 

Northrop Grumman is a global aerospace and defense technology company. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with the capabilities they need to connect and protect the world and push the boundaries of human exploration across the universe. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our employees define possible every day. 

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