L3Harris continues expansion of solid rocket motor facilities in Huntsville
On the heels of a $1 billion government investment, L3Harris Technologies is expanding its Advanced Manufacturing Facility-South in Huntsville.
The $25 million expansion plan announced Wednesday includes an additional 130,000 square feet of manufacturing space. The expansion increases the company’s footprint in Huntsville to about 670,000 square feet across three sites.
AMF-South features 379,000 square feet of space and specializes in manufacturing inert SRM components like nozzles, exit cones, aft closures and cases.
The site features equipment such as hydraulic presses, autoclaves, tape-wrap systems and composite machining that will help deliver high-quality inert components faster and with greater precision.
The AMF-South location is able to scale rapidly by utilizing space that already has the necessary infrastructure in place, company officials said.
“The additional space allows us to lean forward and surge capacity in a way that directly aligns with the Department of War’s demand for critical munition acceleration,” said Ken Bedingfield, president, Missile Solutions, L3Harris. “Huntsville’s expansion at AMF-South gives us the flexibility we need to grow quickly and continue delivering for our customers.”
In April, the company closed a $1 billion strategic investment from the Department of War.
That investment, L3Harris said, will be used to expand and modernize facilities – including Huntsville, accelerate research and development, and increase production capacity for critical national security technologies.
The AMF-South facility growth builds on the company’s sustained investments in Huntsville, including a tripling of capital spend from 2024 to 2025.
Huntsville supports more than half of L3Harris’ solid rocket motor programs with inert component production, and output continues to increase year-over-year.
“Solid rocket motors remain essential to the vast majority of critical defense programs that protect our communities, military and allies,” said Bedingfield. “Our growth in Huntsville represents another significant investment we are making to boost production capacity of critical components, and we’re proud that they are being made in Alabama.”
The company has said it intends to pursue an IPO of MSL in the second half of this year, pending market conditions.
The Missile Solutions business was created this year, bringing together the missile capabilities from across L3Harris, including the operations of legacy Aerojet Rocketdyne.
AMF-South is supporting programs such as the Standard Missile, Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System and Javelin, with plans to support additional programs.
Expansion efforts have already resulted in approximately 40 new jobs for the area, and the company expects to create more than 100 additional jobs to support operations at the site, including mechanical and manufacturing engineering, project engineering, quality and skilled trades such as machinists and composite technicians.
The expanded AMF-South facility complements the 136,000-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing Facility – North in Huntsville, which opened in 2019.
