. 24/7 Space News .
ROCKET SCIENCE
Aerojet Rocketdyne Scores Big Contracts on US ICBM, Hypersonic Missile Programs
by Staff Writers
Washington DC (SPX) Sep 18, 2019

.

Aerojet Rocketdyne has scored parts of several big contracts in the burgeoning US missile program, including developing a hypersonic missile and the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), the next generation of nuclear ballistic missiles.

In the race to build the next generation of ground-based missile systems, Aerojet Rocketdyne is poised to profit bigtime from the bevy of contracts being handed out by the Pentagon. At the US Air Force Association's Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on Monday, the rocket engine maker announced it would be working with other defense firms on developing a Mach 5-capable hypersonic cruise missile, as well as the next generation of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Retired Army Col. Steve Warren, an Aerojet spokesperson, told Military.com for a Monday story that the company was working on "taming the physics" of a powerful new engine for a hypersonic missile that can fly so fast, enemy air defense will scarcely be able to keep track of it, much less shoot it down.

The Pentagon purportedly has nine different hypersonic missile programs in development right now in a bid to catch up with Russia and China, both of which have already demonstrated operational models of the superfast weapons. Only in June did the US Air Force test a hypersonic weapon for the first time, firing off a dummy AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) built by Lockheed Martin.

Warren said perfecting such a weapon is the US Defense Department's "top technical priority." That's become all the more true since the US withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty on August 2, removing a key barrier to the development of land-based nuclear missiles capable of reaching their targets in just minutes' time.

US Army Secretary Ryan D. McCarthy indicated late last month the service's new-found interest in hypersonic weapons following the treaty's lapse, noting the US would definitely field such a weapon with a range of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers in the next few years.

Also on Monday, Aerojet Rocketdyne announced it would be working with Northrop Grumman as an "integral part" of the lucrative GBSD program, a $63 billion contract that will replace the Pentagon's aging Minuteman III ICBM stocks. The missiles form the land-based portion of Washington's Nuclear Triad, ensuring its ability to respond in kind to any kind of nuclear attack, no matter how comprehensive in scope.

"Aerojet Rocketdyne is proud to be part of Northrop Grumman's nationwide GBSD team and excited for the opportunity to provide a large solid rocket motor system and a post-boost propulsion system for this vital defense program," Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake said in the statement.

"Over the past three years Aerojet Rocketdyne has refined processes and built state-of-the-art facilities to mature our technology and increase affordability for the propulsion systems we will provide for the GBSD program."

The statement further noted that "Aerojet Rocketdyne propulsion has powered every US Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) ever flown or fielded." While the firm was only formed in 2013, it grew out of Aerojet, a rocket engine maker that's now a subsidiary of GenCorp and which purchased Pratt and Whitney's rocket engine-making spinoff, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.

The result is that, apart from Orbital ATK, Aerojet Rocketdyne dominates the field of rocket engine manufacturing. Since Orbital ATK was bought by Northrop Grumman last year, Boeing was forced to drop out of the running for the GBSD contract, as Orbital was its engine supplier, SpaceNews reported.

Source: RIA Novosti


Related Links
Hypersonic News
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


ROCKET SCIENCE
Engine Section for NASA's SLS Rocket Moved for Final Integration
New Orleans LA (SPX) Sep 05, 2019
Technicians at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans moved the engine section for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to another part of the facility on Sept. 3 to prepare it for joining to the rest of the rocket's core stage. The engine section, which comprises the lowest portion of the 212-foot-tall stage, is the last major component to be horizontally integrated to the core stage. The flight hardware will be used for Artemis I, the first lunar mission of SLS and NASA's Orion ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

ROCKET SCIENCE
Malaysia Interested in Having Access to Russian Space Tech, Prime Minister Says

JAXA spacecraft carries science, technology to the Space Station

Voice-command ovens, robots for pets on show at Berlin's IFA tech fair

Israeli high-tech looks to future -- whoever wins vote

ROCKET SCIENCE
China to launch Third Long March 5 by year end

Roscosmos to Build Cheap Soyuz-2M Rocket for Commercial Satellites Launch Service

Engine Section for NASA's SLS Rocket Moved for Final Integration

New salt-based propellant proven compatible in dual-mode rocket engines

ROCKET SCIENCE
NASA Research Gives New Insight into How Much Atmosphere Mars Lost

'Martian CSI' Sheds Light on How Asteroid Impacts Generated Running Water Under Red Planet

NASA engineers attach Mars Helicopter to Mars 2020 rover

ESA Chief says discussed ExoMars 2020 launch with Roscosmos

ROCKET SCIENCE
China's KZ-1A rocket launches two satellites

China's newly launched communication satellite suffers abnormality

China launches first private rocket capable of carrying satellites

Chinese scientists say goodbye to Tiangong-2

ROCKET SCIENCE
Private Chinese firms tapping international space market

Iridium and Thales Expand Partnership to Deliver Aircraft Connectivity Services

ESA re-routes satellite to avoid SpaceX collision risk

Cutting-edge Chinese satellite malfunctions after launch

ROCKET SCIENCE
Bolivia, with huge untapped reserves, gears up for soaring lithium demand

Spider silk, wood combination replicates material advantages of plastic

Shaken but not stirred: Konnect satellite completes vibration tests

China data centres set to consume more power than Australia: report

ROCKET SCIENCE
Potassium Detected in an Exoplanet Atmosphere

Planetary collisions can drop the internal pressures in planets

Deep-sea sediments reveal solar system chaos: An advance in dating geologic archives

Exoplanets Can't Hide Their Secrets from Innovative New Instrument

ROCKET SCIENCE
Storms on Jupiter are disturbing the planet's colorful belts

ALMA shows what's inside Jupiter's storms

Young Jupiter was smacked head-on by massive newborn planet

Mission to Jupiter's icy moon confirmed









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.