L3Harris Moves Toward Aerojet Rocketdyne Acquisition

Following a failed venture by Lockheed Martin, L3Harris is eying up an acquisition of aerospace industry titan Aerojet Rocketdyne worth 4.7 billion USD. While the acquisition is still in early processing, negotiations are moving forward toward the acquisition.

Aerojet Rocketdyne

Industry leader Aerojet Rocketdyne has been the titan in propulsion development in the space industry in the US. Aerojet now produces primarily hydrogen based engines, with the notable RS-25 and RS-68 main engines, and the storied RL10 series engines. The historic RS-25 series engine debuted on the Space Shuttle, and flew on 135 missions, and was one of the first rocket engines to be designed around repeatable, consistent, and reusable technologies. The RS-25 engines are now being used on the Space Launch System, which recently performed its maiden voyage on the Artemis-1 mission. The RS-68 engine is a further development of the RS-25 engine designed to be expendable, which has been featured on the Delta IV Medium, Medium+ and Heavy variants. RL10 engines have also been featured on many historic rockets, including the Saturn-1, DC-X, Delta III, Delta IV, Atlas V, and the SLS, and is widely known for its high efficiency and performance in space.

L3Harris

L3Harris is a deference contractor, military technology development, and aerospace communications and avionics. L3Harris is one of the world's largest defense contractors, coming in 6th in the US. Always wanting to break into the Aerospace industry, L3Harris has been under lots of competition as a subcontractor as recent booms have drastically increased competition in the industry, with Aerojet Rocketdyne and RocketLab having major stakes across the industry. Aerojet Rocketdyne recently underwent acquisition negotiations Lockeed Martin over its acquisition, with Lockheed pledging 4.4 billion to purchase the company; however, the acquisition fell through earlier this year. L3Harris is looking at a purchase of 4.7 billion for the acquisition.