Northrop Grumman to build new SSRMs to boost USN missile capabilities

The second-stage solid rocket motor completes a static fire test on 21 November 2025 in Elkton, Maryland. (Northrop Grumman)

The US Navy (USN) has awarded Northrop Grumman a USD94.3 million contract “to develop and qualify a new 21 inch diameter second-stage solid rocket motor (SSRM) for the navy's extended-range missile programmes to deter and defeat fast-moving air, surface, and hypersonic threats”, Northrop Grumman said in a 7 January statement.

The navy launched the SSRM programme about two years ago, Gordon LoPresti, senior director of Propulsion Systems and Controls for Northrop Grumman, told Janes on 8 January. In 2024, the navy funded a demonstration phase for Northrop Grumman and Anduril Industries to each build and test two prototype motors and conduct static test firings, he said, adding that Northrop Grumman conducted its test firings in November and December 2024.

“The navy did a downselect assessment in 2025 [and] selected Northrop Grumman, and we are now actively executing on the follow-on contract, which gets us through the qualification phase for this new 21 inch second-stage rocket motor,” LoPresti said.

The two-year contract awarded in late 2025 covers qualification testing and data analysis through final usage approval, he said, noting that the navy is executing through an Other Transaction Authority (OTA), which has a different approval process than the traditional Milestone C procedure.

Qualification testing will include static and flight-testing as well as environmental and other performance trials, LoPresti said.

The contract also covers “continued design and low-rate initial production of 60 units for testing and delivery”, which will take place at Northrop Grumman's Propulsion Innovation Center in Elkton, Maryland, the statement said.