Firehawk Aerospace details 3D printed propellant plans for Lawton facility

Construction is underway on Firehawk Aerospace‘s Great Plains Arsenal on the west side of Lawton, Oklahoma, a facility designed to produce rocket propellant using manufacturing methods that will cut production time from roughly 60 days to about six hours.

Will Edwards, Chief Executive Officer at Firehawk Aerospace, said the process originated with a co-founder’s independent work in 2019, before the company shifted its focus from space applications to defense.

Rather than the lengthy mixing and curing process used by traditional propellant manufacturers, Firehawk produces an energetic pellet feedstock that can be stored and later formed into different types of propellant through 3D printing, compression molding or extrusion.

“We’ve cut probably I’d say about a 60 day process down to about six hours. So, it’s significantly cheaper, requires a lot less labor,” Edwards said. “We’ve been able to really expedite the production of the propellant while cutting costs. Which is why what I think we’re building in Lawton, Oklahoma is so cool because, by at least the end of next year, if not the beginning of 2028, we should be the third biggest producer of rocket propellant in the country.”

Edwards said artillery motors will be the facility’s first products, citing Lawton’s proximity to Fort Sill, home of the Army’s Field Artillery. “We should be the biggest producer of artillery motors in the country by next year,” he said.

Firehawk has committed more than $50 million to the facility, an investment–the company received investments from Hanwha Defense USA and AFWERX last year–Edwards said is expected to bring more than 100 new jobs, including technicians, engineers, materials scientists, site managers and security personnel.

Firehawk expects to begin commissioning its first buildings this fall, with low-rate production targeted for next summer and full-rate production expected by the end of that summer.