WASHINGTON – Defense giant Anduril Industries has acquired Adranos, a maker of solid rocket motors, the companies announced on June 25. The terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Founded in 2015, Adranos makes solid rocket motors on the Mississippi coast and opened a propellant manufacturing facility in Indiana last year. The startup invented a proprietary aluminum-lithium alloy propellant called ALITEC to power solid rocket motors used in tactical missiles and launch vehicles.
“Through this acquisition, Anduril will become a commercial supplier of solid-fuel rocket engines to prime contractors who supply missiles, hypersonic and other propulsion systems for the Department of Defense’s key programs,” Anduril said in a statement.
Solid rocket motors are one sector of the defense industry for which the Pentagon fears insufficient domestic sources.
Currently, only Northrop Grumman and Aerojet Rocketdyne supply solid fuel rocket engines to the Department of Defense. Aerojet is currently being acquired by L3Harris Technologies.
Anduril said its entry into the market as a subcontractor will “bring more resources and competition to an industry facing severe consolidation.”
The company said it plans to invest in the Adranos solid fuel rocket manufacturing facility in Mississippi to boost production rates.
“Necessity for more competition”
“There is a clear need for more competition and an expanded solid fuel rocket engine offering for the United States and our allies,” said Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf.
Chris Stoker, CEO of Adranos, said the acquisition will help the company “rapidly advance our technology and expand our team and manufacturing capabilities to handle thousands of traditional and ALITEC solid fuel rocket engines per year.”
The ALITEC fuel was tested on tactical missile-size solid-fuel rocket motors as part of a jointly funded program by the US Navy and US Air Force. Adranos announced in 2019 that it had conducted flight tests as part of an army program that showed engines using ALITEC fuel could increase a missile system’s range by nearly 40 percent.
Founded in 2017, Anduril Industries is a defense technology specialist based in Costa Mesa, California. The company specializes in artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation. It developed drones and artificial intelligence software to help the Ukrainian Armed Forces conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions.