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Contracts · Munitions

L3Harris says its record-quantity GMLRS motor order will be built in an unopened plant

Lockheed Martin's $250 million follow-on will be filled in Camden, Ark., at a plant L3Harris is building as part of a Pentagon cooperative agreement.

Lockheed Martin has awarded L3Harris a follow-on contract valued at $250 million to manufacture standard-range Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) propulsion units, L3Harris announced Oct. 12. Scott Alexander, L3Harris' president of propulsion systems in Missile Solutions, said the award came "at the highest quantity in program history." L3Harris did not give the number of motors, the contract type, the period of performance or a delivery schedule.1

The contract will be fulfilled in a new 60,000-square-foot facility in Camden, Arkansas, scheduled to open later this year

On Oct. 12, 2026, L3Harris announced it was awarded a follow-on contract from Lockheed Martin

standard-range GMLRS propulsion units$250 millionactual

has been awarded a follow-on contract from Lockheed Martin

Arsenal of Freedom facility in Camden, Arkansas60,000-square-footplanned

scheduled to open later this year

funded through the Defense Production Act Title III cooperative agreement

Source: L3Harris releases, Oct. 12, 2026 and Dec. 10, 2025. As of Oct. 12, 2026.

Sources
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The motors will come out of a building that has yet to open. L3Harris says the contract will be fulfilled in its new 60,000-square-foot Arsenal of Freedom facility in Camden, Ark., scheduled to open later this year.1 In December 2025, the company called its new Camden GMLRS facility "newly constructed." It said then that a GMLRS insensitive-munition motor order valued up to $200 million would be the first processed there.2

Aerojet Rocketdyne, before L3Harris acquired it, signed a $215.6 million cooperative agreement with the Defense Department to increase rocket propulsion manufacturing capacity, primarily for Javelin, Stinger and GMLRS.3 L3Harris says it is building the Camden facility as part of that agreement.4 In December 2025, it said the plant was funded through a Defense Production Act Title III cooperative agreement.2

L3Harris has delivered more than 35,000 GMLRS motors.4 It says it has doubled GMLRS motor output in recent years through advanced manufacturing techniques.1

The plant's opening is the next marker for this order.1 L3Harris has said the facility enables annual production capacity to increase by more than 30%.2

Sources (4)
  1. L3Harris: L3Harris Awarded Solid Rocket Motor Contract with Record Production (Oct. 12, 2026) www.l3harris.com
  2. L3Harris: L3Harris to Produce Additional Solid Rocket Motors for Precision-Guided Artillery System (Dec. 10, 2025) www.l3harris.com
  3. Aerojet Rocketdyne: Aerojet Rocketdyne Awarded $215.6M to Supplement Ongoing Modernization Efforts and Increase Solid Rocket Motor Manufacturing Capacity www.l3harris.com
  4. L3Harris: Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) www.l3harris.com
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Industry · Rocket motors

L3Harris opens GMLRS rocket motor plant designed to double capacity

The Camden, Arkansas, facility is part of a $216 million federal agreement covering several sites. Arkansas’ governor said motor production at the new plant would begin soon.

L3Harris opened its Arsenal of Freedom solid rocket motor facility in Camden, Arkansas, on Oct. 20, 2026. The company designed the plant to double current capacity, with room for additional growth. Together with additional propellant processing facilities, it will support production for the Army’s Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS).1

L3Harris designed its Camden plant to double current capacity

Arsenal of Freedom solid rocket motor facility, October 2026

Double current capacityDesign goal for the Camden facility
$216 millionMulti-site cooperative agreement signed in 2023

The facility is part of the agreement, which also covers new facilities in Orange County, Virginia, and equipment and digital upgrades in Huntsville, Alabama.

Source: L3Harris, Oct. 20, 2026. As of Oct. 21, 2026.

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Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said motor production at the new plant would begin soon. L3Harris did not give a baseline capacity, output rate or production start date for the plant with the opening.1

The facility’s completion is part of a $216 million Defense Production Act Title III cooperative agreement L3Harris signed in 2023 to support increased demand for tactical missiles, including Javelin, Stinger and GMLRS. That agreement also covered new facilities in Orange County, Virginia, and equipment and digital upgrades in Huntsville, Alabama.1

The GMLRS facility is one part of a broader propulsion expansion at Camden, where L3Harris is also executing the Arkansas Advanced Propulsion Facilities project and two new facilities to support PAC-3 propulsion production.1 The company says more than $1 billion of its multibillion-dollar investment in solid rocket motor capacity expansion is designated for the Camden site.2

Sources (2)
  1. L3Harris release, Oct. 20, 2026 www.l3harris.com
  2. L3Harris, Arkansas Advanced Propulsion Facilities build-out accelerates, Oct. 1, 2026 www.l3harris.com
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Contracts · Space

Viasat wins contract for Space Data Network’s mission operations hub

The award includes a $115 million initial task order to design, field and scale the center, under a contract with a $450 million ceiling.

Space Systems Command (SSC) awarded Viasat a competitive indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the Space Data Network Backbone’s Mission Operations Center, the command announced Nov. 5, 2026. The contract carries a $450 million maximum ceiling and a $115 million initial task order to design, field and scale the center.1

Viasat, Inc. will serve as the network and mission system integration partner

Mission Operations Center (MOC) for the Space Data Network Backbone

maximum ceiling$450 millionactual

contract to Viasat, Inc., with a maximum ceiling of $450 million

initial task order$115 millionactual

to design, field, and scale the MOC

Source: Space Systems Command, Nov. 5, 2026

Sources
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Viasat will serve as the network and mission system integration partner as SSC expands its open-architecture ecosystem across multiple space-segment providers. SSC plans to bring mission integration, network operations and data transport management together through the center.1

The effort builds on the multi-vendor acquisition strategy demonstrated in the Space-Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio’s earlier Delivery Order 2 and Delivery Order 3 work. That work involved Amazon LEO for Government, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Rocket Lab and York Space Systems.1

Breaking Defense reported that the center will serve as the network orchestration hub for the backbone, a low Earth orbit constellation being built by SpaceX. The network’s near-term focus will be supporting the Golden Dome missile defense initiative, the outlet reported.2

DefenseScoop reported that earlier this year the Department of War awarded SpaceX a $2.3 billion contract to deliver a fully operational backbone prototype by the end of 2027.3

The center is intended to integrate mission systems across multiple constellations and providers.1 Breaking Defense described network orchestration as autonomously shifting data among satellite constellations and ground stations when congestion or jamming slows transmission.2

Sources (3)
  1. SSC release, Nov. 5, 2026 www.ssc.spaceforce.mil
  2. Breaking Defense breakingdefense.com
  3. DefenseScoop defensescoop.com
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