L3Harris Technologies is planning a $1.27 billion expansion of its manufacturing site in Orange County, Virginia, to bolster its production of solid rocket motors for the Department of Defense.
The company announced April 15 it would establish the Virginia Advanced Propulsion Facilities for mixing, grinding, casting and assembling. The expansion will more than double manufacturing space at the Virginia site, which currently spans 256,000 square feet.
The announcement follows a January deal between L3Harris and the Pentagon, in which the DoD is investing $1 billion in the company’s Missile Solutions spinoff business to expand capacity on critical missile programs. The investment provided up-front cash that L3Harris needed to increase its solid rocket motor production, modernize its facilities and improve industrial resilience, the Pentagon said at the time.
Last year, L3Harris began construction of a new solid rocket motor production facility at the company’s Aerojet Rocketdyne campus in Camden, Arkansas. It also opened a new and expansive rocket motor parts plant in Huntsville, Alabama.
“The company’s ongoing investments in new facilities, equipment and processes will enable it to double, triple and quadruple solid rocket motor production rates for a range of key programs,” L3Harris said in a release.
News about the Virginia expansion was made alongside Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, who applauded the investment, along with other state and county leaders. The addition of the Virginia Advanced Propulsion Facilities is expected to create 350 jobs over the next five years.
Nikki Wentling is a senior editor at Military Times. She's reported on veterans and military communities for nearly a decade and has also covered technology, politics, health care and crime. Her work has earned multiple honors from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors and others.
