The Department of War announced $33.5 million in new investments aimed at bolstering the nation’s solid rocket motor production capabilities, a critical component in maintaining America’s defense posture against emerging global threats.
The funding, awarded through Defense Production Act Title III, will be split between two companies: Americarb Inc., receiving $12.6 million, and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS), which was granted $20.9 million. Both awards target specific modernization efforts and capacity increases in the solid rocket motor (SRM) industrial base.
“To meet the evolving threats of tomorrow, we must expand our capacity to produce the critical subcomponents that underpin our munitions systems,” said Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey, underscoring the strategic importance of the investment.
Critical Materials for National Defense
What exactly will these millions buy? For Americarb, the focus is on developing prototype processes to convert woven rayon fabric into carbonized rayon phenolic (CRP) — an essential material that might sound obscure to civilians but is absolutely vital to defense engineers. CRP serves as a key polymeric ablative material used to insulate rocket nozzles in tactical missiles, hypersonic weapons, and strategic programs.
The larger portion of the funding will enable GD-OTS to significantly increase SRM nozzle production capacity, establishing the company as a new supplier for composite rocket nozzles and insulators. This expansion leverages advanced tape wrapping and high-rate material handling technologies designed to improve both throughput and quality while reducing system-level lead times.
These awards represent just a portion of the Department’s broader initiative. They’re part of six Defense Production Act Title III awards made under a recent Defense Industrial Base Consortium Other Transaction Agreement (DIBC OTA) solicitation, which collectively total $87.3 million for expanding the SRM industrial base.
Billion-Dollar Industrial Base Expansion
The scale of investment goes well beyond these two companies. Since the beginning of fiscal year 2025, the DPA Purchases Office has made 16 investments totaling an eye-popping $811.5 million. These federal dollars have been complemented by $88 million in recipient cost shares, demonstrating a significant public-private partnership approach to strengthening America’s defense industrial capabilities.
Behind these initiatives is the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy (OASW(IBP)), which manages the strategic direction of such investments. The office works through various partnerships, both domestic and international, utilizing mechanisms like the DIBC OTA to source research and prototype solutions for critical supply chain areas.
“The OASW(IBP) works with domestic and international partners to forge and sustain a robust, secure, and resilient industrial base enabling the warfighter, now and in the future,” according to department statements.
For defense analysts, these investments signal a growing recognition within the Pentagon that America’s military edge increasingly depends not just on battlefield tactics or troop strength, but on the resilience and surge capacity of its industrial base — particularly in specialized areas like solid rocket motor production that can’t be rapidly scaled up in times of conflict.
