Aerojet Rocketdyne Inc.

Aerojet Rocketdyne Inc. Huntsville Operations Division, a subsidiary of L3Harris Technologies, Inc., manufactures solid rocket motors, rocket propulsion systems, and related ordnance components for the Department of Defense as a prime contractor (32% of recent awards) and subcontractor to defense primes (68%), competing on full-and-open federal contracts without set-aside designations. The division operates from its headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama, where it performs research, development, testing, production, and sustainment work across missile defense, advanced interceptor, hypersonic, and naval propulsion programs.

Aerojet Rocketdyne's customer base concentrates heavily on missile-defense and Navy programs. The top five funding agencies account for 71% of recent awards by count; the Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency leads with 24 awards valued at $43.1 million combined potential value, followed by the Naval Air Systems Command Naval Air Warfare Center (4 awards, $135.3 million combined potential value), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (4 awards, $48.3 million), and the Naval Sea Systems Command and Strategic Systems Programs (4 awards each). The potential-value ranking shifts dramatically upward when the Eglin Wide Agile Acquisition Contract (EWAAC) is included: that single $46 billion Air Force Indefinite Delivery Contract anchors the portfolio and represents the division's largest vehicle position. Aerojet Rocketdyne holds a seat on EWAAC as a prime contractor, with 2 task orders issued since 2021 (combined potential value $1 thousand), positioning the division to compete on Air Force novel weapons and strategic technology initiatives through September 2031.

The division's prime work spans two large OTA IDVs and one conventional IDIQ. A $46.2 million Other Transaction Authority multiple-award IDV for the Joint Economical Sled Track Rocket (JESTR) Project, awarded by NAVAIR in October 2022, supports medium rocket motor development for sled track applications. A $999,141 OTA IDV from DARPA, awarded in January 2023, covers hydrogen peroxide rotating detonation engine rocket-based combined-cycle technology maturation. A July 2025 DARPA Research Project OTA IDV carries a $293,485 ceiling. Definitive prime contracts include a $299,187 firm-fixed-price contract from NAVAIR (November 2024) for solid fuel ramjet fuel testing, a $537,882 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract from the Air Force Test Center (June 2022) for highly loaded grain production, and a $471,894 Naval Air Systems Command contract (January 2022) for high-performance propulsion systems performed in Ridgecrest, California. The division also holds a Defense Production Act Title III cooperative agreement from the Washington Headquarters Service, awarded March 2023 and running through June 2027, to upgrade solid rocket motor production capacity. A March 2026 Other Transaction Agreement with the Office of the Secretary of Defense for the RAPTOR Phase 1 effort carries a $248,523 ceiling and ultimate completion of August 31, 2026.

The division's subcontractor footprint clusters around Raytheon Company, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation. As a Raytheon sub, Aerojet Rocketdyne supplies rocket motors and sustaining engineering for Standard Missile systems (SM-3 Block IIA), Standard Missile DLMF and ILMF repairs and maintenance, IIA obsolescence mitigation, and MMIII propulsion subsystem sustainment; recent sub awards span 2023 through June 2025. Under Lockheed Martin, the division performs next-generation interceptor auxiliary upper-stage rocket (AUR) development, KV DACS (kinetic-kill vehicle guidance and control system) development, spin motor aging tests, and high-temperature kinetic-kill technology development across awards from December 2023 through January 2025. Northrop Grumman sub awards include GQM-163A aerial recce launch system propulsion and PSSC propulsion subsystem engineering services. The division does not compete under SBA set-asides; all prime and sub work is full-and-open or OTA-based, with no small-business or socioeconomic designations in the award portfolio.

Activity peaked in 2024 with 15 awards, contracted to 8 awards in 2025 and 2 through April 2026. Only two awards (combined potential value $249 thousand) face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, indicating minimal near-term recompete exposure for this division. The portfolio's top NAICS categories are research and development in physical, engineering, and life sciences (23 awards) and guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing (12 awards), aligned with the division's role as a propulsion systems and ordnance manufacturer for advanced defense programs. SCI reporting captures minimal service-contract activity: one sub-record in FY2022 representing 3.5 FTEs, reflecting the division's focus on goods manufacturing and R&D rather than on labor-intensive services.