Ground broken on rocket-motor plant

Construction has begun on a $50 million rocket motor engineering, manufacturing and development plant scheduled to open next spring at the Highland Industrial Park in East Camden.

Senior Aerojet Rocketdyne officials were joined by state and local leaders Thursday to break ground on the 17,000-square-foot facility that will produce large solid rocket motors for, among other applications, the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, the next generation land-based intercontinental ballistic program.

The U.S. Air Force program, in the early stages of development, is designed to replace the aging Minuteman III ICBMs.

“The Engineering, Manufacturing and Development facility will be the newest and most modern rocket development facility in the nation,” Eileen Drake, chief executive officer and president for Aerojet Rocketdyne, said in a news release.

The El Segundo, Calif., company has had a presence in Arkansas for 40 years. Its 800 employees produce solid rocket motors for missiles and other applications. The new facility will need an additional 100 employees over the next three years, the company said.