L3Harris Technologies and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders broke ground on the new Arkansas Advanced Propulsion Facilities (AAPF), a more than 20-building, 110-acre expansion at the company's Camden site aimed at increasing large solid rocket motor (SRM) manufacturing capacity roughly sixfold. Next-generation SRM production depends heavily on composite motor casings and structural components engineered for strength-to-weight efficiency and thermal resistance, so the expansion signals rising demand for advanced composite materials and automated manufacturing.
The new complexes will focus on medium and large motors for tactical and air defense missiles, missile-defense targets, interceptors and hypersonic systems, incorporating digital manufacturing, robotics, automated inspection and predictive maintenance. The campus adds 230,000 square feet to the 2,000-acre Camden site, pushing total manufacturing space beyond 1.5 million square feet.
L3Harris's chair and CEO called it a generational investment in America's defense capability, and Governor Sanders highlighted its role in Arkansas's aerospace and defense export economy. Of the more than $400 million investment, L3Harris plans to direct $193 million to Arkansas-based businesses; the Camden site has produced rocket motors since 1979 and now makes more than 115,000 units annually, part of a broader $500 million-plus L3Harris investment across its Camden, Culpeper (Virginia) and Huntsville (Alabama) rocket motor facilities.
Source: L3Harris Technologies
