On October 15, 2026, Nanjixiong learned that Leidos had selected X-Bow Systems to develop and manufacture printed booster motors for the US Army's Low-Cost Containerized Munition (LCCM) program. Leidos will mass-produce the new low-cost cruise missile under the Department of Defense's Arsenal of Freedom initiative.
The agreement covers design, qualification and static firing, with full-rate production planned for 2027. It is X-Bow's sixth propulsion program award in 2026, spanning the Navy, Army and Missile Defense Agency. It recently delivered over 2,100 combat-ready motors. Revenue and backlog have more than doubled since 2023.
X-Bow uses a proprietary AM process for solid rocket motors and says it addresses a 50-year US capacity bottleneck. Its motors serve missiles, interceptors and space launch vehicles.
Nanjixiong's observation
Printing is moving from aerospace experimental parts into defense production. X-Bow uses AM to restructure solid motor manufacturing and address ammunition capacity shortages. The 2027 schedule points toward scaled validation of printed defense manufacturing.
AI-translated from an article by Kuaixiong on Nanjixiong, originally published on 2026-10-15. Text and images retain the original source attribution.
Read the original Chinese article |
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