Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. has been awarded a five-year Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) contract for up to $46.7 million to test thermal protection system materials used in ballistic reentry and reentry-like environments at Kratos’ SRE business unit in Birmingham. The initial award is $8.6 million under a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract.
Kratos SRE is the portion of Southern Research that Kratos acquired in mid-2022. SRE employs about 175 engineers, technicians and program support professionals conducting work in support of the space community, the Department of Defense and other national security customers.
“We are honored to support NSWCDD for this important program and are proud that we have been able to do so for decades,” said Michael Johns, senior vice president of Kratos SRE.
Kratos SRE will support and test materials for the U.S. and the United Kingdom with direct oversight from the NSWCDD Reentry Systems Office. The support includes sample preparation, instrumentation, testing and gathering thermo-mechanical data on materials at extremely high temperatures and in high heat flux/shear environments, including at temperatures of 5,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The contract enables Kratos SRE to conduct ground testing at external ground test facilities and produce flight hardware for the Navy.
“Our division has a long and valued relationship with the Navy supporting research and rocket and ballistic missile target programs,” said Dave Carter, president of Kratos’ Defense & Rocket Support Services Division. “The addition of the NSWCDD RSO work by adding KSRE to our division team is exciting, and we look forward to continuing our role as a trusted provider for the Navy.”