Defense Innovation Unit’s TACTILE Program Achieves First Missile Launch w/ 3D Printed Propellant

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), an agency within the US Department of Defense (DoD) focused on commercial scaling of emerging technologies, has announced the successful launch of a single-stage rocket powered by 3D printed solid propellant. Part of the DIU’s TACTILE (Tactical Launch Effort) program, the lead on the project was X-Bow Systems, an Albuquerque company specializing in using additive manufacturing (AM) to produce solid rocket motors (SRMs).

On September 12, 2024, X-Bow launched a rocket featuring its XB-32 Advanced Manufactured Solid Propellant (AMSP) motor, which the company claims is “the largest [AMSP] motor flown to date.” The launch at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico provided critical pre- and post-flight data to the DIU, X-Bow, and partners including the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command and Redwire Space.

According to DIU, the purpose of TACTILE is to first demonstrate the viability of AMSPs, so that the agency and its partners can subsequently evaluate the production methods in order to optimize those methods for commercial scaling. Reaching an altitude of 32,000 feet and hitting a speed of Mach 1.2, the XB-32 illustrated AM’s potential to help DoD reshore SRM production with lower costs and greater agility.

Regarding the key milestone, the DIU Space Portfolio Director, Major General Steve Butow, said, “The successful demonstration of 3D-printed propellant through the TACTILE program is a major step forward in delivering low-cost, rapidly deplorable suborbital solutions, including in hypersonics. This achievement showcases the power of [AM] to reduce costs and boost efficiency, while underscoring the critical role of collaboration between DIU and commercial partners in driving innovation for future mission success.”

The CEO of X-Bow, Jason Hundley, said, “We have seen how the Cold War-era model of development, production, and stockpiling — coupled with over-consolidation in the industrial base — has left the US and its allies unprepared for the demands of rapid scaling, production, and innovation. At X-Bow, we’re addressing this by building the nation’s second-largest SRM factory, completing it in a fraction of the time and cost compared to traditional capabilities. We are the only company today with a flight-validated manufacturing process, adding significant new capacity for SRM production for the US and its allies.”

This project intertwines many of the most salient current themes related to advanced manufacturing, government procurement, and geopolitical competition. The theme that stands out above all the others is the need for rapid scalability.

Although there are seemingly countless agencies now operating in the same space as DIU, DIU is the still the only one whose specific mission is commercial scaling. In August, DIU announced Blue Manufacturing, an initiative aiming to create a portfolio of vetted advanced manufacturing companies that will be pre-approved to supply DoD.

In DIU’s rollout for Blue Manufacturing, the agency’s director, Doug Beck — a former Apple VP — specifically referenced AM as one of the technological fields that DIU is focused on supporting with the new program. Given the challenges AM companies have historically faced with scalability, DIU could prove to be an increasingly critical partner to the AM industry over the next decade.

Images courtesy of X-Bow Systems