Aerojet Awarded Air Force Research Laboratory Ramjet Development Contract

Source: Aerojet; issued Jan. 22, 2004)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Aerojet, a GenCorp Inc. company, through its recently announced acquisition of the assets of Atlantic Research Corporation’s propulsion business (ARC Propulsion) was named by Raytheon Missile Systems to be the propulsion supplier for the Variable Flow Ducted Rocket (VFDR) Flight Vehicle Concepts program. Raytheon is the prime contractor on the program for the Air Force Research Laboratory Munitions Directorate Flight Vehicle Integration Branch. The first phase of the contract will operate for approximately one year.

Under the VFDR program, Aerojet will develop a preliminary design for a flight test vehicle with a propulsion system designed specifically for air-to-air tactical missile applications. Additionally, adaptations of the VFDR technology will be evaluated for other potential tactical missile applications.

ARC Propulsion conducted a flight weight ground test of the VFDR engine in 1997, completing more than 20 years of design and development work by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate. The successful flight weight ground test demonstrated the technology was ready for flight testing. Now, Aerojet is teamed with Raytheon to apply the previous development work to the VFDR Flight Vehicle Concepts program, and potentially to future Air Force missile requirements.

According to Aerojet’s Manager of Airbreathing Systems, Pat Hewitt, early — and ongoing — investments in ramjet technology for air-to-air tactical missile applications were crucial components in the selection of Raytheon to work on the VFDR propulsion system. “Our steadfast commitment to ramjet technology development has kept this propulsion option open for military applications, and significant progress in recent years has demonstrated the potential for use in programs such as VFDR,” Hewitt said.

The VFDR ramjet uses a solid propellant to provide hot fuel-rich gas as the ramjet fuel, and a valve is used to control the fuel flow rate and engine thrust during flight. Other ongoing ramjet work at Aerojet include the MARC-R282 variable flow ducted rocket ramjet engine developed for the U.S. Navy’s GQM-163A Coyote missile target system, and the MARC-R290 VFDR ramjet for the Navy’s High Speed Anti-radiation Missile Demonstration program.

“We are extremely pleased with the opportunity to work on the VFDR program with Raytheon and the Air Force Research Laboratory,” said Rick Yezzi, Aerojet Vice President of Business Development, Tactical Systems. “This is a great opportunity to build on more than 20 years of work together with the Air Force and Raytheon toward the VFDR Flight Vehicle concepts goals.”

Aerojet is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader principally serving the missile and space propulsion, and defense and armaments markets. GenCorp Inc. is a multi-national, technology-based manufacturer with leading positions in the automotive, aerospace, defense and pharmaceutical fine chemicals industries

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