The money covers the development and qualification of tactical motors for the Compact Air-to-Air Missile (CAAM) and the Naval Modular Missile (NMM). Ursa Major said the awards will also expand its energetics production capacity and make use of additive manufacturing under what it calls its Lynx manufacturing approach.
“By investing in CAAM and NMM, the Navy and OUSW are building solid rocket motor capacity now and getting new tactical air and naval capabilities into development sooner,” said Jason Meredith, president of Solid Missile Systems at Ursa Major. He added: “Production is the bottleneck in missile programs right now, and that’s the part we’ve been building for.”
CAAM is an air-launched missile intended for current and next-generation aircraft. For it, Ursa Major is designing a compact, low-cost 7-inch motor that uses Highly Loaded Grain to meet performance requirements inside a tight volume.
The company is developing the motor with the same manufacturing methods it plans to use in full production. The idea is that it can be built at scale once it is qualified.
The second contract supports the medium-range variant of NMM with a 10-inch motor designed for high-rate production and for use with existing Navy shipboard launch systems. Ursa Major said the aim is an operational motor that meets Navy performance and safety requirements while supporting high annual production volumes.
The contracts extend a run of Navy work for the company. In July, the Navy awarded it $10 million to take its MK 104 design through critical design review and static fire testing in support of the Standard Missile family.
In February, Ursa Major completed a $25 million cost-share Solid Rocket Motor Manufacturing Pathfinder Program with the Navy and the Office of Strategic Capital. That effort designed, built and static-fired a 10-inch Highly Loaded Grain motor with a proprietary propellant, in work carried out with the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division at China Lake and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division.
