The agreement underlines Avio’s commitment to support U.S. defence needs through its domestic expertise, reinforced by its subsidiary Avio USA headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Italy’s biggest rocket and missile motor manufacturer is responding to growing demand from the American military and industry, which face a chronic production shortfall in the United States.
Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo said the company has capacity to rapidly increase output at its Colleferro site near Rome while preparing for future production in the U.S. “Today we manufacture 200-300 rocket motors a year at Colleferro and can triple that in 4-5 years on present commitments,” he told Defence News. He added that about two more years would be needed for Avio to qualify Solid Rocket Motor products at Colleferro as per recent U.S. contracts.
Ranzo noted the advantage of expanding operations in Italy before a new U.S. facility becomes fully operational. “U.S. officials have said production in the U.S. would be the ideal, but they understand that takes time. Establishing new capacity cannot be done in months,” he said. “There are plenty of startups trying to enter this market, but this requires decades of experience in production at scale and a large and authorized site to handle explosives.”
Avio has also expanded its presence in the U.S. defence sector through a July 2024 agreement with Raytheon to develop “critical solid rocket motors for defense applications,” and a partnership with the U.S. Army “for the development and fast-prototyping of a solid rocket motor for surface-to-air applications.” The company’s involvement reflects rising demand linked to global conflicts and the narrowing of supply options after the 2018 purchase of Orbital ATK by Northrop Grumman.
In addition to defence, Avio has a strong record in space, having put 120 satellites into orbit over the last 12 years through 24 launches of its Vega launcher. The group also contributes to the propulsion of the Aster 30 missile and produces the solid-propellant rocket motor of the new CAMM-ER air defence missile. With more than 50 years of experience, Avio remains a prime contractor for the Vega programme and a sub-contractor for the Ariane programme, both financed by the European Space Agency.
