X-Bow Systems Inc has completed installation of its patented Additive Manufacturing of Solid Propellant (AMSP) production system at its Luling, Texas campus and is conducting inert material trials to validate system performance ahead of scaled production. The Albuquerque, New Mexico-based company said the system will begin flowing energetics and producing solid rocket motor propellant for existing contracts within 30 to 90 days of the announcement. The facility was co-invested by the U.S. Air Force and DARPA alongside approximately $40 million in X-Bow private capital.
What it means
The Luling facility will initially produce 1 million pounds of energetics annually, with plans to scale to 3 million pounds annually within 12 to 24 months. At scaled capacity, X-Bow said that output is equivalent to roughly 3,000 to 3,800 or more Standard Missile motors per year, or 30,000 to 50,000 tactical-sized solid rocket motors per year. The AMSP system supports propellant production for the Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon System, the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike weapon system, and the Navy’s Standard Missile program, specifically the Mk 72 booster and the Mk 104 dual-thrust solid rocket motor. X-Bow said it is the only supplier awarded development contracts for both the Mk 72 and Mk 104.
X-Bow Founder and CEO Jason Hundley said in the release, “We’ve depleted in one year what was considered a decade’s worth of munitions stockpiles,” and described the Texas campus as providing “production and surge capacity for tactical, strategic, and hypersonic solid rocket motors.” The company said the milestone directly supports the Department of Defense’s Acquisition Transformation Strategy. In 2023, then-Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Dr. William LaPlante testified before Congress that replenishing certain munitions stockpiles would take 5 to 10 years at current production rates. X-Bow also holds a partnership with Lockheed Martin’s Astris AI Factory.
Key facts
- Facility location: Luling, Texas (X-Bow campus)
- Private capital invested: approximately $40 million (according to the company)
- Co-investors: U.S. Air Force and DARPA
- Initial annual production capacity: 1 million pounds of energetics
- Planned scaled capacity: 3 million pounds annually within 12–24 months
- Scaled equivalent output: approximately 3,000–3,800 or more Standard Missile motors per year, or 30,000–50,000 tactical-sized solid rocket motors per year (according to the company)
- Energetics flow start: within 30 to 90 days of announcement
- Programs supported: Army Long Range Hypersonic Weapon System, Navy Conventional Prompt Strike, Navy Standard Missile (Mk 72 booster, Mk 104 dual-thrust SRM)
- X-Bow is the sole supplier awarded development contracts for both the Mk 72 and Mk 104 (according to the company)
Source: X-Bow Systems Inc news release (PRNewswire)