Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, is growing its presence in Huntsville, Alabama, in order to increase its production of solid rocket motors to meet the elevated demand for these products that are essential to our nation’s security. The expanded scope of work slated to be done in Huntsville is part of a larger effort to increase the company’s overall solid rocket motor production capacity under both internal and government investments.
Aerojet Rocketdyne already has a significant presence in Huntsville. The company’s Missile Solutions sector headquarters is located in Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park, the second largest research park in the country. The company selected Huntsville as Missile Solutions headquarters partly because of the area’s highly capable and motivated local workforce that includes top-notch engineers and technicians, as well as its close proximity to key customers and government partners.
In 2019, the company opened a 136,000 square foot Advanced Manufacturing Facility (AMF), establishing Huntsville as Aerojet Rocketdyne’s Inert Manufacturing Center of Excellence. A team of dedicated operators at the site produces non-energetic components of solid rocket motors, like cases, nozzles and other components for key U.S. defense programs.
To support ongoing expansion plans, the company leased a 379,000 square foot manufacturing facility located in the Jetplex Industrial Park near Huntsville International Airport. The new facility will provide additional manufacturing and office space for Huntsville employees to produce important inert solid rocket motor components for several defense programs. Aerojet Rocketdyne recently announced that it plans to transition production of inert components for Javelin and GMLRS missiles from its Camden, Arkansas site to Huntsville.
As the company’s presence in Huntsville has grown, so has its workforce, increasing by more than 700% since 2017. Now, roughly 800 Aerojet Rocketdyne employees work in Huntsville between the Missile Solutions headquarters building and the AMF. In addition to substantial manufacturing activities, Huntsville employees work in a variety of disciplines including engineering, program management, supply chain management, business development, mission architecture & analysis, and software development.
“Aerojet Rocketdyne and its heritage companies have had a continuous presence in Huntsville for more than 50 years,” said Mark Farley, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Vice President of Site Operations & Manufacturing. “We look forward to expanding our manufacturing operations to increase solid rocket motor deliveries so the U.S. and its allies have what they need to accomplish the mission."
Aerojet Rocketdyne works with more than 70 different businesses across Alabama. Between 2019 and 2023, Aerojet Rocketdyne sourced $73.28M to 82 suppliers in Alabama.
