Prometheus Energetics Breaks Ground on New Solid Rocket Motor Manufacturing Campus in Indiana
Rhea-AI Summary
Prometheus Energetics (KTOS) broke ground Feb. 20, 2026 on a new 600-acre solid rocket motor (SRM) manufacturing campus in Bloomfield, Indiana, as anchor of ACMI's National Security Industrial Hub. Kratos and RAFAEL committed up to $175 million capital. The campus targets four production lines, up to 800 tons of energetics capacity, and plans SRM production to begin in 2027 following construction and certification.
The facility aims to strengthen domestic SRM supply, scale production rapidly, and create high-skilled manufacturing jobs while supporting U.S. and allied defense needs.
Positive
- Capital committed: $175 million by Kratos and RAFAEL
- Site size: 600-acre campus as NSIH anchor tenant
- Production capacity: Up to 800 tons of domestic energetics
Negative
- SRM start depends on completion of construction and RAFAEL certification for 2027 start
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
KTOS gained 8.7%, outpacing peers like DRS (+2.83%), AVAV (+4.45%), and HII (+4.71%), while ERJ (-0.54%) and TXT (-0.81%) declined. Momentum scanner only flagged ESLT (+2.12%), supporting a stock-specific reaction to the Prometheus expansion news rather than a uniform sector rotation.
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 18 | Hypersonic contract win | Positive | +5.7% | Award to support hypersonic vehicle thermal protection system testing. |
| Feb 17 | Satellite ground contract | Positive | +3.3% | Multi-million Airbus contract for OmanSat-1 ground segment delivery. |
| Feb 13 | Autonomy deployment | Positive | +2.3% | Expansion of automated truck platooning for NASCAR logistics operations. |
| Feb 13 | Earnings call scheduled | Neutral | +2.3% | Announcement of Q4 and FY25 earnings release and conference call timing. |
| Feb 10 | Drone program selection | Positive | -5.4% | Selection for Phase 1 Gauntlet in Drone Dominance Program. |
Recent defense and autonomy contract wins have generally been followed by positive price reactions, with one notable divergence on a drone program selection.
Over the past weeks, Kratos has reported several defense-related milestones. On Feb 18, 2026, a hypersonic materials contract coincided with a 5.7% gain, and on Feb 17, 2026, a multi-million OmanSat-1 ground system award saw shares up 3.27%. Autonomy deployment with NASCAR and an earnings call announcement on Feb 13, 2026 both aligned with a 2.31% rise. A Feb 10, 2026 Drone Dominance Phase 1 selection, however, saw a -5.39% move, showing occasional divergence even on positive defense news. Today’s Prometheus manufacturing campus update fits into this broader expansion and contract-driven narrative.
Market Pulse Summary
This announcement highlights a major capacity build-out, with Prometheus’s Indiana campus spanning 600 acres, supporting 4 solid rocket motor lines and up to 800 tons of energetics output, backed by up to $175 million from Kratos and RAFAEL. It fits alongside recent contract wins in hypersonics, satellites, and autonomy. Investors may focus on construction progress, certification milestones ahead of the projected 2027 production start, and how this added capacity integrates with broader U.S. defense supply chain needs.
Key Terms
solid rocket motors technical
propulsion systems technical
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
Prometheus will serve as the anchor tenant for ACMI's National Security Industrial Hub (NSIH) in
"Today's groundbreaking represents far more than the start of construction," said Dan Merenda, Chief Operating Officer of Prometheus Energetics. "It marks the moment when a known vulnerability in America's solid rocket motor supply chain begins to be closed. Prometheus was created to operate at production scale, delivering trusted, domestically produced energetics systems to meet urgent and long-term
Kratos and RAFAEL have jointly committed up to
RAFAEL brings decades of vertically integrated energetics expertise and combat-proven technologies supporting systems such as Iron Dome, David's Sling, and other advanced air and missile defense platforms. Kratos contributes extensive
"The establishment of Prometheus is a strategic step in strengthening the
"This groundbreaking advances our strategic partnership with Kratos and will ensure reliable access to advanced, combat-proven energetics for
Prometheus will establish its headquarters and primary production operations on approximately 600 acres of the NSIH site, leveraging the campus ecosystem to accelerate production of critical propulsion systems and expand second-source capacity across major missile programs.
Major construction activities are expected to progress through phased development, with the campus ultimately supporting large-scale SRM and energetics production while creating high-skilled manufacturing jobs in
Prometheus. Bringing Fire to the Fight.
About Prometheus Energetics, LLC
Prometheus Energetics is a
About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS) is a technology, products, system and software company addressing the defense, national security, and commercial markets. Kratos makes true internally funded research, development, capital and other investments, to rapidly develop, produce and field solutions that address our customers' mission critical needs and requirements. At Kratos, affordability is a technology, and we seek to utilize proven, leading edge approaches and technology, not unproven bleeding edge approaches or technology, with Kratos' approach designed to reduce cost, schedule and risk, enabling us to be first to market with cost effective solutions. We believe that Kratos is known as an innovative disruptive change agent in the industry, a company that is an expert in designing products and systems up front for successful rapid, large quantity, low-cost future manufacturing which is a value add competitive differentiator for our large traditional prime system integrator partners and also to our government and commercial customers. Kratos intends to pursue program and contract opportunities as the prime or lead contractor when we believe that our probability of win (PWin) is high and any investment required by Kratos is within our capital resource comfort level. We intend to partner and team with a large, traditional system integrator when our assessment of PWin is greater or required investment is beyond Kratos' comfort level. Kratos' primary business areas include virtualized ground systems for satellites and space vehicles including software for command & control (C2) and telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C), jet powered unmanned aerial drone systems, advanced vehicles and rocket systems, propulsion systems for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic systems, space craft and launch systems, C5ISR and microwave electronic products for missile, radar, missile defense, space, satellite, counter UAS, directed energy, communication and other systems, and virtual & augmented reality training systems for the warfighter. For more information, visit www.KratosDefense.com.
About RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.
Established in 1948, RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. develops, manufactures, and sustains combat-proven technologies, products, and systems-of-systems for air, land, naval, space and digital applications. As the developer of two integral layers of
About ACMI
The American Center for Manufacturing & Innovation (ACMI) is an industrial group focused on revitalizing
Contact: Alex.Flanagan@prometheusenergetics.com
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SOURCE Prometheus Energetics, LLC