Aidan Daly
Raytheon, an RTX business, and Northrop Grumman have completed a static fire test of an advanced long-range solid rocket motor. The test, which demonstrated wired end-burning technology for hypersonic applications, was carried out at the Northrop Grumman Allegany Ballistics Laboratory, RTX said Thursday.
In addition to providing data supporting digital modeling and simulations, the test also validated the design maturity and performance of the rocket motor. “This is a major milestone in proving the significant capability of this solid rocket motor,” said Colin Whelan, president of advanced technology at Raytheon.
Raytheon’s advanced technology team and Northrop Grumman worked together and used their digital engineering expertise to accelerate the design and development in a digital environment using model-based systems engineering.
Whelan added, “By leveraging industry collaboration, we were able to demonstrate that we can produce and meet requirements for challenging long-range fires kill chains.” Raytheon and Northrop Grumman jointly develop hypersonic systems and invest in rocket motor testing. The goal is to achieve stability and maturity and deliver capability to servicemen and women on an accelerated schedule.
Frank DeMauro, sector vice president of weapon systems at Northrop Grumman, said, “This extremely important test of our wired end-burning technology provides extended range over conventional rocket motors.” He looks forward to pursuing next-generation propulsion technology that will help and enable customers to respond to evolving threats.
