Raytheon and Avio USA have finalised a purchase order worth up to $26 million to continue engineering work on the Mk 104 dual-thrust rocket motor, part of Raytheon’s standard missile programme.
The order, announced on September 24, follows a contract signed 13 months earlier covering initial engineering efforts. The new funding will support work through the critical design review stage, procurement of long-lead materials, and measures to expand and accelerate production capacity for solid rocket motors.
Barbara Borgonovi, President of Naval Power at Raytheon, said the agreement is, “an important step in expanding our supply chain to ensure the resilience and availability of the Mk 104 rocket motor,” adding that second sourcing of critical materials would strengthen production capacity.
Avio USA CEO VADM (Ret.) James Syring stated, “We are proud to continue our work on Mk 104, which is so critical to the United States and our allies. We look forward to advancing the motor through full qualification and into production in the future.”
The companies noted that a system requirements review and preliminary design review have already been completed.
Avio Group CEO Giulio Ranzo added that the firm would provide support in engineering, material characterisation, testing, sourcing, and integration to help Raytheon meet demand for the programme.