Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited the L3Harris Technologies Camden site today as part of his nationwide “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, highlighting the importance of American manufacturing capacity in strengthening the defense industrial base and supporting U.S. and allied warfighters.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth addresses a crowd of approximately 1,500 L3Harris employees in Camden, Arkansas, as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour.
Secretary Hegseth toured several of the site’s solid rocket motor production facilities and spoke with the 1,500 employees who design, build and deliver propulsion systems for critical missile programs. L3Harris is investing billions of dollars into modernizing and expanding its sites across the nation to significantly increase solid rocket motor production, including for Munitions Acceleration Council programs.
“Thank you for being the backbone of our department and our great nation, for having the backs of our warfighters because what you build right here in Camden is absolutely central to the 21st Century Arsenal of Freedom,” Secretary Hegseth said. “You are the patriots ensuring that our warriors are never, ever in a fair fight. The more than 115,000 solid rocket motors that you’re building every single year can’t be matched.”
“Industrial capacity has become a strategic element of deterrence; the ability to deliver at scale, with speed and reliability, directly impacts how effectively the United States can deter threats and project peace through strength,” said Christopher Kubasik, Chairman and CEO, L3Harris. “Thank you, Secretary Hegseth, for reinforcing to our Camden team that what L3Harris builds here directly contributes to the safety of our warfighters and our homeland.”
During the visit, Secretary Hegseth engaged employees who produce the propulsion systems that power the PAC-3 air and missile defense system and met with the teams who manufacture the large solid rocket motors for strategic deterrence, interceptors, hypersonic systems and target missiles. He also reviewed construction progress on the company’s new Arkansas Advanced Propulsion Facilities (AAPF).
The AAPF facilities
The AAPF facilities are an expansive new campus that will support medium and large solid rocket motor production. The 110-acre campus will include more than 20 new buildings and increase large solid rocket motor manufacturing capacity sixfold. The expansion incorporates advanced manufacturing technologies, automation and digital process controls L3Harris designed to improve safety, efficiency and throughput while providing long-term, domestic surge capacity.
The Camden site produces thousands of solid rocket motors a year that support a wide range of Department of War programs. L3Harris is investing billions in this competitive market to deliver at the scale and speed the Department of War demands. The company’s 2,000-acre Camden site is one of the nation’s largest solid rocket motor manufacturing centers and has supported national and allied defense missions for more than four decades.
L3Harris acquired the solid rocket motor business in 2023 and has transformed and grown its production operations to align with the Department of War’s increasing demand for missile programs. L3Harris intends to pursue an initial public offering of the solid rocket motor business in the second half of the year.
