During the visit, Hegseth toured several solid rocket motor production facilities and met with approximately 1,500 employees who design, build and deliver propulsion systems. L3Harris is investing billions of dollars to modernize and expand its sites nationwide in order to significantly increase solid rocket motor output, including for Munitions Acceleration Council programs.
“Thank you for being the backbone of our department and our great nation, for having the backs of our warfighters because what you build right here in Camden is absolutely central to the 21st Century Arsenal of Freedom,” Hegseth said. “You are the patriots ensuring that our warriors are never, ever in a fair fight. The more than 115,000 solid rocket motors that you’re building every single year can’t be matched.”
Christopher Kubasik, Chairman and CEO of L3Harris, said the company’s manufacturing capacity plays a direct role in deterrence. “Industrial capacity has become a strategic element of deterrence; the ability to deliver at scale, with speed and reliability, directly impacts how effectively the United States can deter threats and project peace through strength,” Kubasik said. “Thank you, Secretary Hegseth, for reinforcing to our Camden team that what L3Harris builds here directly contributes to the safety of our warfighters and our homeland.”
Hegseth also engaged employees who produce propulsion systems for the PAC-3 air and missile defense system and met teams manufacturing large solid rocket motors for strategic deterrence, interceptors, hypersonic systems and target missiles. He reviewed construction progress on the company’s new Arkansas Advanced Propulsion Facilities, an expansion designed to support medium and large solid rocket motor production.
The 110-acre campus will include more than 20 new buildings and is expected to increase large solid rocket motor manufacturing capacity sixfold. According to the company, the expansion incorporates advanced manufacturing technologies, automation and digital process controls to improve safety, efficiency and throughput while providing long-term domestic surge capacity.
The 2,000-acre Camden site produces thousands of solid rocket motors annually in support of Department of War programs and has supported national and allied defense missions for more than four decades. L3Harris acquired the solid rocket motor business in 2023 and said it has since expanded production to align with growing demand for missile programs, with plans to pursue an initial public offering of the business in the second half of the year.
