Energetic materials: Producers, Dependencies & Controls

Constraint

Why supply is constrained

Critical

Propellant and explosive supply has many single-source nodes. Ammonium perchlorate for weapons motors has one DoD-approved domestic source (AMPAC in Cedar City, Utah), and DoD calls single-source reliance a resilience risk.

Includes Ammonium perchlorate

Producers3

Sort

Northrop GrummanProduces · 30,000,000 lb/yr solid rocket propellantExpected to rise to nearly 50 million lb/yr by 2028.
X-Bow SystemsProduces · 1,000,000 lb/yr energeticsX-Bow Luling solid rocket motor campus
American Pacific CorporationProducesOnly DoD-approved domestic source of grade 1 ammonium perchlorate (as of the 2020 audit).

Producers. Select a sortable column heading to sort.
					Conf.
Northrop Grumman	Produces	30,000,000lb/yr solid rocket propellant	—	2026-09	Confirmed
X-Bow Systems	Produces	1,000,000lb/yr energetics	X-Bow Luling solid rocket motor campus	2025-11	Confirmed
American Pacific Corporation	Produces	—	—	2026-10	Confirmed

Capacity and global share as reported; shares from different years and sources may not add up. Bars compare producers on this page only.

Dependencies

Upstream · needs · 0

No upstream inputs recorded.

This input

Energetic materials

Critical

Downstream · needed by · 2

Upstream: what this input is made from or processed with. Downstream: what is made from it.

Who needs it2

Technologies· 2

Organizations that consume it· 1

Sort

L3Harris Aerojet RocketdyneConsumes

Consumers. Select a sortable column heading to sort.
				Conf.
L3Harris Aerojet Rocketdyne	Consumes	—	2026-10	Confirmed

Supply deals1

Supplier to customer relationships
Supplier	Customer	For	Notes	Conf.
American Pacific Corporation	L3Harris Aerojet Rocketdyne	—	Grade 1 ammonium perchlorate for solid rocket motors (per 2020 DoD IG audit).	Confirmed

Facilities1

Facilities
Facility	Owner	Kind	Location	Status	Confidence
X-Bow Luling solid rocket motor campus	X-Bow Systems	Factory	Luling, Texas, United States	Operating · 2025	Confirmed

X-Bow Luling solid rocket motor campus
X-Bow Systems
Factory · Luling, Texas, United States
Operating · 2025
Confirmed

News1

Sep 8, 2026CompanyNorthrop GrummanNorthrop Grumman Opens Propulsion Innovation Center in Maryland, Expanding High-Tech JobsNorthrop Grumman

Sep 8, 2026CompanyNorthrop GrummanNorthrop Grumman Opens Propulsion Innovation Center in Maryland, Expanding High-Tech Jobs

Sources4

Profile1

1
Government recordDoD Launches Effort to Enhance Solid Rocket Motor Production Capacity
OASD Industrial Base Policy · Sep 21, 2023 · Supports Input
“Reliance on a single source supplier for defense-critical items hinders resilience and manufacturing redundancy, and limits competition in propulsion system technologies.”

Supply chain3

2
CompanyNorthrop Grumman Opens Propulsion Innovation Center in Maryland, Expanding High-Tech Jobs
Northrop Grumman · Sep 8, 2026 · Supports Organization input
“solid rocket propellant capacity totals about 30 million pounds annually today and is expected to increase nearly 50 million pounds annually by 2028.”
3
CompanyX-Bow Readies Nation's Newest Solid Rocket Motor Facility for Production
X-Bow Systems (PR Newswire) · Nov 19, 2025 · Supports Organization input
“the facility will initially produce 1 million pounds of energetics annually, with plans to scale to 3 million pounds within 12-24 months”
4
Government recordAudit of Purchases of Ammonium Perchlorate Through Subcontracts With a Single DoD-Approved Domestic Supplier (DODIG-2020-095)
DoD Office of Inspector General · Jul 9, 2020 · Supports Input, Organization input, Supply relationship
“The only DoD-approved domestic AP1 supplier is the American Pacific Corporation (AMPAC).”

Each fact on this page is attached to the sources that support it. Archived copies are linked when we keep one.