TechCrunch reports that a surge in US rocket motor production is straining the supply of ammonium perchlorate (AP), a key ingredient made at scale by only one US company, AMPAC. Despite new startups entering the defense space with Pentagon support, experts warn that this single-source bottleneck threatens supply chain stability. Calls are growing for the government to fund a second AP supplier, just as it has backed new motor makers. They write:
Anduril has officially brought its high-volume solid rocket motor (SRM) factory online in Mississippi as it races to fulfill America’s demand for space and defense missions and challenge a decades-long duopoly between two major defense contractors.
The Mississippi factory will be able to produce 6,000 tactical motors a year by the end of 2026, enough volume to position Anduril as the United States’ “third” SRM supplier. More than 700 motors have already passed static test firing. These motors are used for a range of kinetic weapons, like missile interceptors, and even deep-space probes.
A handful of promising startups are pushing behind them as demand soars for weapons in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and mounting tensions in the South China Sea. […]
AMPAC announced in April that its parent company would invest $100 million in a new AP production line, which would increase capacity by 50%. The project is scheduled to be complete next year, a tight deadline even if everything goes to plan. AMPAC did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment on the status of that new line.[…]
“If developing a second source is imperative, then the government should focus on that by doing what they did with Ursa Major, X-Bow, and so on — by doing prototype efforts with other companies to develop another source of AP,” he said.
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