RTX’s Raytheon, in partnership with US company Ursa Major, has completed a missile flight test using their advanced long-range solid rocket motor for the US Army.
The collaboration’s expertise in digital engineering contributed to the expedited design and development process for this new capability.
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The strategic approach taken by Raytheon and Ursa Major integrates novel, cost-effective component technologies to produce advanced smart munitions for the US Army that are poised to be more economical than existing systems.
Raytheon has integrated Ursa Major’s propulsion innovations as a central component to furnish the US Army with cost-efficient solutions for extended-range operations.
Ursa Major CEO Dan Jablonsky said: “The Ursa Major team has utilised additive manufacturing to complete motor development, manufacturing, and testing in unprecedented timelines, resulting in nearly 300 static test fires this year.
“The innovative manufacturing techniques we employ are yielding agile solid rocket motor solutions with the design flexibility needed to expand the capabilities of the US military. Ursa Major is poised to scale the production of higher-performing solid rocket motors at the pace and volume the country requires and at a price the country can afford.”
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By GlobalDataThe forthcoming stage involves Raytheon and Ursa Major enhancing manufacturing processes, aiming for further flight tests in 2025 and aiming for qualification by 2026.
Raytheon Land and Air Defense Systems president Tom Laliberty said: “These long-range solid rocket motors will allow the US Army and allies to strike farther and faster than anything our adversaries have in their arsenals.
“This long-range rocket motor technology fills the essential role of providing affordable precision fires, while increasing range, safety, and magazine depth.”
In 2023, RTX Ventures made strategic investments in Ursa Major to further research into rocket motor technologies, addressing a critical national defence need.
Raytheon’s partnership with Ursa Major is geared towards meeting the immediate demand from the US Army for economically viable precision-guided munitions.
This is being pursued through dedicated funding in rocket motor advancement and rigorous testing to confirm the stability and sophistication of the design.
Earlier in the month, RTX’s BBN Technologies was selected by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a prototype photonic chip for the Intensity Squeezed Photonic Integration with Revolutionary Detection (INSPIRED) programme.
Launched in 2023, the INSPIRED programme seeks to create optoelectronic detectors that use squeezed-light techniques to achieve sensitivity surpassing the quantum shot-noise limit.
