Defense contractor L3Harris Technologies announced a major expansion of its solid rocket motor manufacturing operations in Camden, Arkansas, committing nearly half a billion dollars to expand its 2,000-acre production campus. According to a press release from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, $193 million of the investment will fund the construction and activation of more than 20 new buildings, adding over 130,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space. This expansion aims to increase production of large solid rocket motors for missile defense systems, interceptors, and hypersonic vehicles, and it will create at least 50 new jobs over the next two years. Construction is expected to begin this year, with production set to start in 2027.
The expanded Camden campus will be managed through L3Harris’s subsidiary, Aerojet Rocketdyne, which was acquired in July 2023 for $4.7 billion. Aerojet Rocketdyne first opened the Camden facility in 2020. This new investment builds on earlier efforts: in February, L3Harris began work on four facilities as part of a $215.6 million agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense under the Defense Production Act Title III program, aimed at strengthening domestic supply chains for tactical missile systems like Javelin, Stinger, and Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems. In parallel with the Camden work, L3Harris has leased a 379,000-square-foot manufacturing plant near Huntsville, Alabama, and has broken ground on five new facilities in Orange County, Virginia, designed to boost production capacity and efficiency. CEO Christopher Kubasik emphasized that demand for rocket motors is rising due to global conflicts and long-term defense initiatives, particularly President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense shield and the newly signed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which directs massive funding toward defense programs. These efforts, combined with L3Harris’s other expansions in Indiana and Florida, are part of a strategy to increase manufacturing capabilities, support satellite production, and accelerate deliveries of advanced defense technologies.