Raytheon partners with Avio to establish SRM facility in US

Raytheon, an RTX business, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to help Avio establish a state-of-the-art solid rocket motor (SRM) facility in the United States, serving Raytheon and other customers as a vertically integrated merchant supplier. Raytheon will have preferred access to a share of the Avio plant production capacity to meet future demand, RTX said in a press release. 

Avio USA Inc. is a subsidiary of Italian company Avio S.p.A.  

This partnership marks another milestone in the collaboration between the two companies, building on a contract signed in July 2024 for preliminary engineering work on the Mk 104 rocket motor and a recent purchase order to fund through Critical Design Review and procurement of long lead material for qualification.

“This agreement will help establish an additional supplier of solid rocket motors within the US and demonstrates our commitment to meeting the increasing demands of our customers,” said Bob Butz, vice president of Operations, Supply Chain and Quality at Raytheon. “By leveraging Avio’s experience and unique capabilities in solid rocket motor propulsion development and manufacturing, we’re strengthening our capacity for critical weapon systems.”

The new Avio facility will help in meeting the demand for advanced SRMs, the press release said.  

“We are proud to be partnered with Raytheon for their future production capacity needs at our new factory facility,” said VADM Ret. Jim Syring, CEO of Avio USA. “We look forward to leveraging the incredible pedigree and experience of our parent company Avio S.p.A. as we build our factory and establish in the US as a true vertically integrated merchant supplier.”