The US Army is expanding and diversifying its Hydra-70 rocket supply chain through prototype agreements with four defense contractors.
The US Army is expanding and diversifying its Hydra-70 rocket supply chain through prototype agreements with four defense contractors.
The service’s Aviation Rocket and Small Guided Munitions Product Office awarded Other Transaction Authority agreements to Firehawk, iRocket, Nammo Perry, and Albers through the One Nation Innovation marketplace.
Under the agreements with undisclosed values, each company is expected to provide 24 prototype Hydra-70 rockets fitted with an M151 high-explosive warhead, as well as a modernized Technical Data Package (TDP), within 18 months.
The move is intended to create multiple viable production sources, modernize the government-owned TDP, improve manufacturability, and give the service additional surge capacity.
Following successful prototype demonstrations, follow-on agreements are planned to expand the effort to other Hydra-70 rocket variants.
The army typically procures between 100,000 and 200,000 Hydra-70 rockets per year, with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems as the current supplier for the Hydra-70 program, including its warheads.
Hydra-70 Rocket
The Hydra-70 is a 70mm (2.75-inch) air-to-ground unguided rocket that can be fired from rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft, including the AH-64 Apache helicopter and the F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter.
The system comprises three main components: the MK66 MOD 4 rocket motor, fuze, and a range of interchangeable warheads.
These include the M151 high-explosive warhead, M255A1 flechette warhead, and M278 infrared illuminating flare, supporting missions ranging from personnel engagement to target illumination.
The Hydra-70 can also be fitted with BAE Systems’ Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance kit, converting the unguided rocket into a laser-guided precision munition that can be used in counter-drone missions.
