Kratos Issues Letter of Intent for 60 Full Rate Production Zeus Hypersonic System Rocket Motors from L3Harris
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS), a leader in defense, national security and global markets, announced today that it has issued a letter of intent to L3Harris Technologies (LHX: NYSE) for an order of 40 Zeus 1 and 20 Zeus 2 hypersonic motors. The large Zeus SRM acquisition by Kratos is representative of the existing under contract, expected future hypersonic and other system launch manifest(s), as Kratos continues to execute its longstanding strategy of making internally funded investments to move fast, and be first to market with affordable, relevant systems for U.S. National Security.
The Zeus 1 and Zeus 2 are high-performance, 32.5-inch diameter solid rocket motors (SRMs) providing substantial performance improvements over similar legacy rockets. They are purposely designed to be fully compatible with existing payloads and launch infrastructure, to enable rapid integration of new technologies and advanced payloads, including those currently under development by Kratos. These and other key attributes will provide Kratos and our customers, including the MACH-TB 2.0 program, with opportunities to fly more often, faster and farther, using fewer stages, and at a substantially reduced cost.
"This strategic purchase of Zeus hypersonic rocket motors is a direct reflection and result of Kratos' long-standing approach: investing our own capital to build capability, capacity, and inventory ahead of customer need," said Eric DeMarco, President and CEO of Kratos. "By putting real product on the shelf and delivering real, ready-now systems at scale, we are fully aligned with Secretary Hegseth's acquisition reform priorities to accelerate delivery, put our own skin in the game, and equip the warfighter faster and more affordably. We have a number of additional, low-cost hypersonic systems and products, certain of which are flying today, as we are committed to being the go-to, low cost, hypersonic system and hardware provider for the United States."
Kratos developed the Zeus family of SRMs in direct response to the need for affordable commercial launch vehicle stages for hypersonic test, ballistic missile targets, scientific research, sounding rocket and special customer missions. Kratos applied its significant rocket launch experience to establish the Zeus 1 and Zeus 2 motor specifications in close coordination with respective customer and user communities. Kratos internally funded development of the Zeus SRMs which are designed and manufactured to Kratos' specifications by key merchant supplier and partner, L3Harris.
The Zeus SRM family is designed with versatility and affordability in mind as a complement to Kratos' other internally funded investments such as the Erinyes hypersonic test "flyer" that debuted in June 2024. Kratos' investments in hypersonic and other relevant mission areas create a versatile family of test and evaluation products that offer complete systems. With the Zeus SRMs, the Erinyes, and other Kratos front end systems, Kratos is one of the only companies boasting both launcher and flyer systems within one organization, providing unmatched innovation, disruptive capabilities, mission responsiveness and affordability to the customer.
This order further demonstrates Kratos' steadfast commitment to supporting the Department of War customer by investing in systems and inventory. This investment, along with Kratos' recent order for 60 22-inch diameter Oriole solid rocket motors, is ensuring that rapid and relevant flight test platforms are available as needed to accelerate hypersonic research and deliver capability to our warfighters.
About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) is a technology, products, system and software company addressing the defense, national security, and commercial markets. Kratos makes true internally funded research, development, capital and other investments, to rapidly develop, produce and field solutions that address our customers' mission critical needs and requirements. At Kratos, affordability is a technology, and we seek to utilize proven, leading edge approaches and technology, not unproven bleeding edge approaches or technology, with Kratos' approach designed to reduce cost, schedule and risk, enabling us to be first to market with cost effective solutions. We believe that Kratos is known as an innovative disruptive change agent in the industry, a company that is an expert in designing products and systems up front for successful rapid, large quantity, low-cost future manufacturing which is a value add competitive differentiator for our large traditional prime system integrator partners and also to our government and commercial customers. Kratos intends to pursue program and contract opportunities as the prime or lead contractor when we believe that our probability of win (PWin) is high and any investment required by Kratos is within our capital resource comfort level. We intend to partner and team with a large, traditional system integrator when our assessment of PWin is greater or required investment is beyond Kratos' comfort level. Kratos' primary business areas include virtualized ground systems for satellites and space vehicles including software for command & control (C2) and telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C), jet powered unmanned aerial drone systems, advanced vehicles and rocket systems, propulsion systems for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic systems, space craft and launch systems, C5ISR and microwave electronic products for missile, radar, missile defense, space, satellite, counter UAS, directed energy, communication and other systems, and virtual & augmented reality training systems for the warfighter. For more information, visit www.KratosDefense.com.
Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Kratos and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Kratos undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Although Kratos believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve many risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from what may be expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. For a further discussion of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of Kratos in general, see the risk disclosures in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Kratos for the year ended December 29, 2024, and in subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other filings made with the SEC by Kratos.
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