The Department of War is investing $32.7 million to break through a critical bottleneck in America’s solid rocket motor production capabilities, officials announced on Monday.
The funding, authorized under the Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III, will flow to two companies: Systima Technologies in Washington state and R.E. Darling Co. (REDAR) in Arizona. It’s part of a broader push to reinvigorate the defense industrial base as demand for propellant-based weaponry surges.
Strategic Investment in Critical Components
Systima Technologies, based in Mukilteo, Washington, will receive $5 million to increase production capacity for solid rocket motor nozzles. The company, part of Karman Space & Defense, will create an additional dedicated production line and optimize manufacturing cells for complex nozzle designs, according to department documents.
The lion’s share of the investment — $27.7 million — goes to Tucson-based REDAR. The Arizona manufacturer will use the funds to expand and modernize production of case insulation materials, which provide critical thermal protection and erosion resistance for rocket motors.
“The surge in demand for propellant-based weaponry, coupled with a narrow supplier base, has created a bottleneck in SRM production,” said Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey. “With these strategic investments, we are fortifying our national security by expanding critical nodes of the SRM supply chain to accelerate munitions manufacturing.”
Broader Industrial Base Effort
Why focus on solid rocket motors now? The answer lies in both global tensions and domestic manufacturing challenges.
These latest investments bring the total DPA Title III funding for the solid rocket motor industrial base to $120 million across eight projects. The initiatives fall under a Defense Industrial Base Consortium Other Transaction Agreement (DIBC OTA) solicitation designed to rapidly shore up critical defense manufacturing capabilities.
The two contracts represent just a fraction of the Department’s industrial base investments. In fiscal year 2025 alone, the DPA Purchases Office has directed 21 investments totaling nearly $940 million, with recipient companies contributing an additional $88 million in cost shares.
Solid rocket motors provide propulsion for numerous missile systems and munitions critical to national defense. Their components must withstand extreme temperatures and pressures while maintaining precise performance characteristics.
Industry analysts note that these investments come at a time when defense officials have repeatedly warned about production constraints limiting America’s ability to replenish munition stockpiles. The specialized nature of rocket motor components has created particular challenges, with few domestic suppliers capable of meeting military specifications.
With these investments, the Department of War is betting that targeted funding at key production bottlenecks will yield outsized returns for overall munitions production capacity — a critical capability as global demand for American-made weapons continues to climb.
