X-Bow Systems, Army in $13.9M joint investment for next-generation GMLRS rocket motor

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — X-Bow Systems, a producer of advanced solid rocket motors and defense technologies, and the Army, with support from the Department of Defense Office of Strategic Capital, have announced a $13.9 million joint investment.

This collaboration aims to design, prototype, and test an advanced manufactured SRM for the standard-range Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS).

This joint investment, facilitated by OSC, is a strategic effort to address constraints in the nation’s production capacity for missiles, munitions, and SRMs, which are currently limited by older manufacturing processes, according to a news release. The initiative seeks to establish an alternative supply source and strengthen the solid rocket motor industrial base, using X-Bow’s patented advanced-manufactured solid-propellant processes for SRMs.

“This investment will introduce next-generation manufacturing for critical defense systems,” said Jason Hundley, CEO of X-Bow Systems, which has a facility in Huntsville. “Our Luling, Texas campus, using these advanced methods, will have the capability to produce thousands of SRMs, including GMLRS.”

OSC is supporting the Army in this effort through a cost-matching structure that facilitates this partnership, combining government funding with private sector matching funds. This collaboration directly supports the Army’s objectives to secure a robust and reliable supply of critical munitions.

This Advanced Manufacturing Pathfinder is being coordinated by OSC on behalf of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and in support of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology and the Army’s Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space, headquartered in Huntsville.

X-Bow will partner with Kord Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of KBR, to develop this Pathfinder.

Kord will provide systems engineering and technical support. The project will culminate in a static fire demonstration of the GMLRS propulsion prototype, supporting the development of a new non-traditional supplier for DoD.