WASHINGTON — L3Harris on Friday announced it had accomplished its acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne, adding an organization with broad expertise in constructing rocket engines and propulsion systems to its portfolio.
The $4.7 billion deal, which the businesses first announced in December 2022, will give L3Harris more opportunities within the missile defense system, hypersonic, and advanced rocket engine markets, the corporate said in a Friday statement.
“I’m thrilled to welcome greater than 5,000 employees to the L3Harris team today,” L3Harris chief executive Christopher Kubasik said. “With national security on the forefront, we’re combining our resources and expertise with Aerojet Rocketdyne’s propulsion and energetics capabilities to be sure that the Department of Defense and civil space customers can address critical mission needs globally.”
Ross Niebergall, who until now was vice chairman and chief technology officer at Aerojet Rocketdyne, can be the president of L3Harris’ latest Aerojet Rocketdyne segment. The corporate said Niebergall can be chargeable for the Aerojet division’s business strategy, financial performance, execution of programs and growth.
“Our customers demand a competitive environment that produces revolutionary, agile solutions,” Niebergall said. “We’ll expand on the strong Aerojet Rocketdyne heritage to boost production and deliver on those expectations.”
By Friday morning, Aerojet Rocketdyne’s website had been redirected to L3Harris’ home page, and it’s now often known as Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company. L3Harris’ other business segments are space and airborne systems, integrated mission systems, and communication systems.
Lockheed Martin’s previous attempt at acquiring Aerojet for $4.4 billion ran aground amid federal regulator’s antitrust concerns. The Federal Trade Commission sued to dam that deal in January 2022, and the next month, Lockheed canceled plans to purchase Aerojet.
In January 2023, a month after L3Harris announced its own acquisition plans, Sen. Elizabeth Warren raised concerns to the FTC. Earlier this month, she also asked the Defense Department to fastidiously review the deal for any potential conflicts.
The FTC on Wednesday told L3Harris it could not block the deal, and the corporate told investors in a letter that it could swiftly move to shut its purchase of Aerojet.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.