RTX's Raytheon, Northrop Grumman successfully test solid rocket motor

Raytheon, an RTX business, and Northrop Grumman have successfully completed a static fire test of an advanced long-range solid rocket motor at the Northrop Grumman Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in West Virginia.

The test demonstrated wired end-burning technology for hypersonic applications and provided data to support digital modeling and simulations that validated the design maturity and performance of the rocket motor. Raytheon's Advanced Technology team and Northrop Grumman leveraged their combined digital engineering expertise to accelerate the design and development in a digital environment using model-based systems engineering.

"This is a major milestone in proving the significant capability of this solid rocket motor," says Colin Whelan, president of Advanced Technology at Raytheon. "By leveraging industry collaboration, we were able to demonstrate that we can produce and meet requirements for challenging long-range fires kill chains."

Raytheon and Northrop Grumman share a long history of collaborating on the development of hypersonic systems. Both are making investments in rocket motor testing to prove design stability and maturity that is necessary to deliver capability to servicemen and women on an accelerated schedule.

"This extremely important test of our wired end-burning technology provides extended range over conventional rocket motors," says Frank DeMauro, vice president, Weapon Systems, Northrop Grumman. "We are excited to rapidly push the boundaries on next-generation propulsion technology and provide our customers with the ability to respond to evolving threats."