Feb 20 (Reuters) - L3Harris Technologies ( LHX ) said on

Thursday it has begun constructing four solid rocket motor

production facilities at its Camden, New Jersey, site, as demand

for missiles accelerates amid escalating geopolitical tensions.

The expansion, part of a $215.6 million agreement under the

Pentagon's Defense Production Act program, aims to increase

domestic manufacturing capacity through the facilities, which

will include propellant processing buildings.

The Camden facilities include a 60,000-square-foot space -

big enough to optimize the component assembly process, reducing

the distances some motors travel during manufacturing by 80%,

thus speeding production. Other buildings at the facility

include a dedicated mixer building to combine chemicals needed

for the motors, and propellant processing buildings to support

increased motor production.

The defense contractor makes rocket motors through its

Aerojet Rocketdyne unit - which it bought in a deal that closed

in 2023.

The unit is a key producer of weapon components as the U.S.

seeks to replace aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic

missiles and build an inventory of tactical missiles.

L3Harris ( LHX ) has since increased spending on the unit by 84%,

investments that have helped improve facilities and processes

after years of under investment and late deliveries, Aerojet's

former president Ross Niebergall told Reuters last year.

Demand for arms and military equipment has ballooned as a

result of the Russia-Ukraine war and ongoing conflicts in the

Middle East, with militaries around the world aiming to

replenish stockpiles, benefiting contractors such as L3Harris ( LHX ).