X-Bow Systems Inc., the Albuquerque-based advanced rocket technology company, announced Tuesday it received an $18 million award from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, a follow-on from an original tech demonstration contract the company landed in March 2021.
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) awarded X-Bow the original contract as part of its Rapid Energetics and Advanced Rocket Manufacturing, or RE-ARM, program. That program, per AFRL's website, is aimed at helping develop inexpensive solid rocket motor production equipment to support national defense needs.
X-Bow's original contract award, worth around $6 million, culminated in the demonstration of a "simulated-energetics factory" at California's Edwards Air Force Base in July 2022.
March's follow-on $18 million, three-year contract award will further the development of that advanced rocket manufacturing tech through a fully energetic manufacturing capability called Gen-0. The plan, said Jason Hundley, X-Bow's CEO, is to put that manufacturing capability at Edwards Air Force Base.
Hundley said the full capability would allow X-Bow to lead production of a "whole suite" of solid rocket motor components for the "full gamut" of armed services, including the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army. The company's beta research facility in Socorro and its production facility near Austin will house work under the new award.
The Albuquerque-based company develops advanced manufacturing systems for solid rocket motor and launch vehicle energetics, and it designs and builds modular solid rocket motors and small launch vehicles. It landed a $64 million U.S. Department of Defense contract for its solid rocket motor design in October 2023, about eight months after it announced plans for a $25 million Texas testing and manufacturing facility.
"The collaboration between X-Bow and AFRL has been extremely effective in leveraging our technology and innovative engineering team to provide the country with a much-needed capability," Jill Marsh, the company's advanced manufacturing and technology programs lead, said in a statement. "The RE-ARM Gen-0 system is going to change the state of the industry and our ability to be responsive."
Shawn Phillips, Ph.D., the chief of AFRL's rocket propulsion division, said in a statement leveraging X-Bow's technology would help "dramatically reduce development timeframes while demonstrating the technologies needed to impact national priorities."
Landing the AFRL follow-on award also allows X-Bow to have "much more mature conversations" with large commercial customers, CEO Hundley said, including prime contractors that sell types of rocket motor products to the government, for example.
"It puts us at a much better seat at the table, basically saying that our technology is much more affordable and is being legitimately accepted by the armed services," he said.
Series B raise, more government contracts among upcoming X-Bow plans
X-Bow is expecting news to release soon on other government program contracts the company has landed, Hundley said. He also told New Mexico Inno when X-Bow announced its $64 million Department of Defense contract that the company is preparing for a flight test mission at White Sands Missile Range, as well.
Alongside those forthcoming contract announcements and the White Sands flight test, Hundley said X-Bow has started a Series B fund raise. Money from the raise would allow X-Bow to accelerate its business plans and growth "into a higher gear," he added. Series B rounds are typically aimed at pushing proven companies past the development stage and normally come with higher company valuations than earlier funding rounds.
Hundley said X-Bow is targeting around $75 million for its Series B raise. He expects to close the round sometime this year and said the company is looking for "the right investors" who fit the aerospace and defense nature of its work. Existing X-Bow investors include Menlo Park, California-based Crosslink Capital and Razor's Edge Ventures, based in Reston, Virginia, which both co-led X-Bow's $27 million Series A round announced in April 2022.
