L3Harris, Lockheed Conduct NGI Rocket Motor Test Fire

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama—Lockheed Martin and L3Harris Technologies on Aug. 10 announced that they had completed a successful test for the second stage solid rocket motor for the Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) program, a milestone that comes as the companies work to keep the program on an aggressive schedule.

For the test, the interceptor completed a full-duration burn in a chamber that replicates the “extreme atmosphere and thermal condition” of operating in the upper layers of the atmosphere, says Christopher Jewell, Lockheed Martin’s vice president for NGI.

While the motor was burning, it sustained severe stresses and met every performance metric to include thrust, pressure and stability, Jewell told reporters on the eve of the Space and Missile Defense Symposium here.

L3Harris builds both the stage one and stage two advanced solid rocket motors for NGI, along with the Attitude Control System and Divert and Attitude Control System, the company says in an announcement.

The rocket motors have been the point of delays to the program, with the Missile Defense Agency telling lawmakers in 2025 that there was an 18-month delay linked to development of the motors. Both Lockheed and L3Harris on Aug. 10 said they were focusing heavily on meeting milestones, including a critical design review (CDR) in the next several months, initial production in late 2027 and fielding in 2030.

Last week, Lockheed Martin also announced it completed a burst test of the NGI’s second stage motor case. During this test, engineers pressurized the carbon fiber motor case beyond expected launch thresholds and it held the required induced loads before failure.

“These milestones are major steps toward our path to CDR, confirming our utmost confidence NGI will meet its demanding performance envelope [and] on track for fielding by 2030,” he says.