Northrop Completes Rapid Second Test of Solid Rocket Motor

Northrop Grumman has completed a rapid second firing of a newly developed solid rocket motor.

The company’s latest 29‑inch BAMM!29 2.0 (Bombardment Attack Missile Motor) solid rocket motor was successfully static‑fire tested just two months after its predecessor, the SMASH!22 motor.

Both motors were designed and manufactured in under a year as part of the company’s Solid Motor Annual Rocket Technology Demonstrator, or SMART Demo, initiative.

The annual program lets Northrop Grumman take on higher technical risk and validate emerging technologies that could be applied to current production solid motors in the future.

Now in its third year, SMART Demo tailors each motor’s design and tooling to specific industry or defense needs while aiming to cut development time and costs and strengthen the supplier base for rocket motors.

SMART Demo Program

Northrop Grumman’s SMART Demo is an annual internal investment effort to design, develop, and test a new solid rocket motor and related manufacturing technologies at flight‑relevant scale.

The initiative helps the company explore advanced materials, complex additively manufactured tooling, and alternative processes that could shorten production lead times and reduce costs for future solid rocket motors.

In 2025, two SMART Demo motors — SMASH!22 and BAMM!29 2.0 — were developed and tested in under 12 months.

Beyond the SMART Demo, recent developments in rocket propulsion include solid rocket motor tests for other programs.

For example, Northrop Grumman has been involved in testing propulsion units for the US Army’s Next‑Generation Short‑Range Interceptor alongside Raytheon, which uses Highly Loaded Grain solid propellant to improve speed and range over legacy systems.

Northrop has recently tested rocket motors for the Precision Strike Missile Increment 1, a long‑range strike system designed for launch from HIMARS and M270 launchers.