Authors:
Suraj Gujar, Navya Malhotra
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Solid Rocket Motors Market Size & Share 2026-2035
Report ID: GMI13982
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Published Date: October 2026
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Solid Rocket Motors Market Size
The Solid Rocket Motors market was valued at USD 9 billion in 2025, reaching USD 9.6 billion in 2026, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.3% (2026–2035) to reach USD 15.3 billion by 2035.
Solid Rocket Motors Market Key Takeaways
Market Leader: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) led with over 18.9% market share in 2025.
Leading Players: Top 5 players in this market include China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), Northrop Grumman Corporation, L3Harris Technologies Inc., Nammo AS, Avio S.p.A., which collectively held a market share of 56.2% in 2025.
The solid rocket motors market is being shaped by the coexistence of high-readiness defense requirements and expanding launch activity. Long-duration procurement programs reward qualified suppliers with durable demand visibility, while space applications broaden the addressable mix for boosters, upper-stage motors, and spacecraft propulsion. Capacity availability, propellant compliance obligations, and the economics of reusable launch systems will determine how fully demand converts into revenue.
GMI Analyst View
Based on input from industry leaders, the solid rocket motors market recorded revenues of approximately USD 8.45 billion in 2024, establishing a robust base entering the forecast period and confirming that the demand acceleration underway in defense and commercial space end markets was already translating into measurable revenue growth in the year immediately before the 2025 base year.
Solid Rocket Motors Market Trends, Growth Drivers & GMI Forecast Outlook
Defense replenishment, deterrent modernization, and commercial satellite deployment are expanding the market's demand base, but growth will not be uniform across applications. Qualified manufacturing capacity and regulatory adaptation will be as consequential as end-market demand in determining which motor platforms capture the forecast opportunity.
Key Drivers
Evidence anchors use cited external data; demand implications and forecast conditions represent GMI analysis.
Defense demand is becoming more operationally urgent rather than simply budget-led. Multiyear procurement arrangements improve order visibility for motor suppliers and support investment in propellant casting, case fabrication, nozzle machining, and final assembly. This matters most in tactical and artillery applications, where replenishment requirements, allied interoperability, and high unit volumes place a premium on qualified throughput and dependable delivery schedules.
Commercial space demand adds a separate growth channel. Launch operators and satellite programs value rapid scheduling, lower ground-infrastructure requirements, and compact propulsion architectures in specific mission profiles. Solid-propellant stages therefore remain relevant in small-launch, upper-stage, kick-stage, and responsive-launch roles even as the economics of larger reusable liquid-propellant launchers reshape the broader commercial launch market.
Key Restraints
Evidence anchors use cited external data; demand implications and forecast conditions represent GMI analysis.
The immediate constraint is less a lack of programs than the limited availability of certified production capacity. Motor production depends on specialized facilities, hazardous-material processes, established quality systems, and lengthy qualification pathways. Second-source initiatives can reduce concentration risk, but their benefits emerge only after suppliers demonstrate repeatable performance within demanding defense and aerospace specifications.
Reusable liquid launch systems pose a more targeted challenge. Their cost structure narrows the viable commercial role for solid propulsion in medium- and heavy-lift missions, forcing SRM suppliers to compete through responsiveness, integration simplicity, and niche mission fit rather than headline launch economics. Environmental compliance adds another layer of complexity because reformulation and containment projects can compete with production and performance-development priorities for engineering resources.
GMI Analyst View
We see the market's demand floor as unusually resilient because strategic and tactical procurement programs are embedded in long-duration defense planning. The more contested question is how quickly qualified capacity can expand and whether commercial space applications retain enough differentiated mission value to offset intensifying reusable-launch competition.
Solid Rocket Motors Market Segment Analysis
By Platform
Tactical Missile Motors generated USD 3.38 billion in 2025 and are projected to grow at a CAGR of 3.4% (2026–2035). The solid rocket motors market relies on this category for broad installed-base demand across air defense, anti-tank, anti-ship, and strike applications, where readiness, storage life, and integration into established missile inventories sustain procurement even as program mix evolves.
Strategic & Ballistic Missile Motors generated USD 1.67 billion in 2025 and are projected to account for an 18.0% share by 2035. Their demand profile is governed by long qualification cycles, sovereign deterrent requirements, and the limited group of suppliers able to manufacture large-diameter motors for strategic programs.
Rocket Artillery Motors held a 9.3% share in 2025 and are projected to reach USD 1.37 billion by 2035. Replenishment activity and demand for guided artillery rockets favor suppliers with mature casting capacity, stable energetics supply chains, and the ability to meet production schedules without extensive redesign.
Sounding Rocket Motors & Other SRM generated USD 675 million in 2025 and are projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.9% (2026–2035). This category benefits from the convergence of research missions, spacecraft maneuvering requirements, target systems, and emerging applications that value adaptable grain geometry and shorter development cycles.
By Propellant
Composite Propellant (HTPB-based) generated USD 5.58 billion in 2025 and is expected to retain a 60.0% share by 2035. Its entrenched role reflects extensive qualification history, dependable processing characteristics, and widespread compatibility with tactical, artillery, and launch motor architectures.
CMDB Propellant is projected to reach USD 3.06 billion by 2035 and grow at a CAGR of 7.2% (2026–2035). Its performance and signature-management attributes are increasingly relevant to tactical programs in which thermal behavior, plume characteristics, and operational survivability influence propulsion selection.
Double-Base Propellant held a 13.0% share in 2025 and is projected to account for a 10.0% share by 2035. The category remains relevant in established applications, but newer motor designs increasingly favor chemistries that offer greater performance flexibility and volumetric efficiency.
Other Propellants are projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.0% (2026–2035) and reach USD 1.53 billion by 2035. Demand is linked to emerging requirements for reduced-signature, lower-toxicity, and specialized energetic formulations, particularly where conventional chemistry does not fully meet program-specific performance or compliance objectives.
By End User
Defense & Military generated USD 5.98 billion in 2025 and is expected to account for a 64.0% share by 2035. Defense ministries and military services remain the market's principal customers because missile modernization, artillery replenishment, strategic deterrence, and sustainment all require propulsion systems with proven readiness and qualification credentials.
Government Civil Space & Research held a 21.0% share in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 3.36 billion by 2035. National space agencies and research institutions support demand through launch programs, scientific missions, sounding activity, and spacecraft propulsion requirements that prioritize mission assurance and established system compatibility.
Commercial Aerospace & Launch Providers held a 12.5% share in 2025 and are projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.7% (2026–2035). This customer group offers meaningful order growth, but it is also highly sensitive to launch economics, schedule certainty, and the availability of alternatives based on reusable liquid propulsion.
GMI Analyst View
We interpret the segment mix as a transition from broad volume expansion toward more differentiated procurement. Suppliers with credible expertise in signature management, adaptable grain design, rapid qualification, and constrained-environment manufacturing should be better positioned than firms whose offerings are tied solely to mature production programs.
Solid Rocket Motors Market Regional Analysis
North America Solid Rocket Motors Market Analysis
The solid rocket motors market in North America generated USD 2.65 billion in 2025 and is projected to account for a 28.0% share by 2035. The region combines strategic deterrence, missile replenishment, government space activity, and commercial propulsion demand within a deeply qualified manufacturing base.
United States
The United States generated USD 2.49 billion in 2025 and is projected to hold a 94.1% share of North American revenue by 2035. Its concentration of propulsion infrastructure, high-value strategic programs, and tactical missile production makes it the region's central demand and supply hub.
Canada
Canada held a 6.0% share of North American revenue in 2025 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.6% (2026–2035). Demand is associated primarily with allied procurement participation, specialized research activity, and access to standardized missile programs rather than a broad domestic manufacturing base.
Europe Solid Rocket Motors Market Analysis
Europe held a 26.0% share in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 3.67 billion by 2035. The region's demand is supported by missile modernization, cross-border industrial programs, and space-launch propulsion, although manufacturing remains distributed across several national ecosystems.
Germany
Germany is projected to reach USD 580 million by 2035 and grow at a CAGR of 5.0% (2026–2035). Its position reflects expanding defense procurement alongside a specialized industrial role in energetics, propellant components, and European missile supply chains.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom generated USD 360 million in 2025 and is projected to account for a 15.5% share of European revenue by 2035. Domestic and collaborative missile programs, together with its participation in European space activity, underpin the country's continued propulsion demand.
France
France held a 17.9% share of European revenue in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 660 million by 2035. Its integrated defense and space propulsion base provides a comparatively diversified demand profile across tactical missiles, strategic systems, and launch applications.
Italy
Italy generated USD 260 million in 2025 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.5% (2026–2035). Its growth is supported by European co-development programs and the country's established role in tactical missile and launch-vehicle propulsion.
Spain
Spain held a 5.1% share of European revenue in 2025 and is projected to account for a 4.9% share by 2035. Its activity is concentrated in specialized energetics, components, and participation in wider European aerospace and defense programs.
Asia Pacific Solid Rocket Motors Market Analysis
The solid rocket motors market in Asia Pacific held a 34.0% share in 2025 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.6% (2026–2035). Concurrent investment in defense modernization, indigenous missile capability, national launch programs, and commercial space activity creates the region's strongest aggregate growth impulse.
China
China generated USD 1.7 billion in 2025 and is projected to account for a 58.5% share of Asia Pacific revenue by 2035. Its state-directed procurement model and vertically integrated propulsion ecosystem support demand across ballistic, tactical, and space-launch applications.
India
India is projected to reach USD 950 million by 2035 and grow at a CAGR of 6.7% (2026–2035). Indigenous defense production priorities and expanding launch programs strengthen the case for sustained domestic motor manufacturing and qualification activity.
Japan
Japan held an 8.8% share of Asia Pacific revenue in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 420 million by 2035. Demand is supported by stand-off missile programs, domestic launch-vehicle activity, and a growing emphasis on national defense industrial capability.
South Korea
South Korea generated USD 350 million in 2025 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.3% (2026–2035). Domestic missile development and an increasingly capable aerospace sector are broadening the country's role from a demand center into a more significant propulsion producer.
Australia
Australia held a 3.9% share of Asia Pacific revenue in 2025 and is projected to account for a 3.3% share by 2035. Allied procurement and research activity underpin demand, while domestic propulsion capability remains comparatively limited against the region's larger industrial powers.
Latin America Solid Rocket Motors Market Analysis
The solid rocket motors market in Latin America generated USD 260 million in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 306 million by 2035. Limited defense budgets, a narrow manufacturing base, and an early-stage commercial space sector constrain the region's growth relative to other geographies.
Brazil
Brazil held a 65.4% share of Latin American revenue in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 200 million by 2035. Its position rests on domestic artillery programs, aerospace research, and the region's most established foundation for solid-propulsion development.
Mexico
Mexico generated USD 40 million in 2025 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 1.7% (2026–2035). The market is largely tied to imported systems and incremental modernization rather than a large indigenous SRM production ecosystem.
Middle East & Africa Solid Rocket Motors Market Analysis
The solid rocket motors market in Middle East & Africa is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% (2026–2035) and reach USD 1.22 billion by 2035. Demand is concentrated in high-spending defense programs, while domestic production capabilities remain uneven across the region.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia generated USD 200 million in 2025 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% (2026–2035). Missile defense, tactical procurement, and broader defense-industrial localization ambitions provide a sustained demand foundation.
UAE
The UAE held an 18.8% share of Middle East & Africa revenue in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 230 million by 2035. Investment in air defense, precision-strike systems, and domestic defense technology is strengthening its role as a regional demand center.
South Africa
South Africa generated USD 70 million in 2025 and is projected to account for a 7.4% share of regional revenue by 2035. Established energetics and ammunition capabilities provide a more developed domestic foundation than elsewhere in Africa, although local procurement budgets remain constrained.
GMI Analyst View
We view Asia Pacific as the market's most consequential regional growth center because multiple national programs are advancing simultaneously across defense, space, and indigenous production. North America and Europe retain critical technological depth, but Asian industrial localization is changing the long-term distribution of propulsion capability and demand.
Solid Rocket Motors Market Share & Competitive Landscape
The solid rocket motors market share structure is concentrated among suppliers with qualified facilities, established energetics expertise, and long program histories. The top five producers collectively held a 56.2% share in 2025, illustrating the importance of certification barriers, secure supply chains, and customer confidence in manufacturing continuity.
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)
CASC held an 18.9% share in 2025. Its position reflects integration across Chinese missile, launch, propellant, and motor-assembly programs, enabling close alignment with state-directed defense and space procurement.
Northrop Grumman Corporation
Northrop Grumman held a 14.4% share in 2025. Its strategic position is reinforced by participation in large-motor programs for deterrence and government space missions, where performance assurance, manufacturing scale, and program continuity are decisive competitive factors.
L3Harris Technologies, Inc. (Aerojet Rocketdyne Division)
L3Harris Technologies held a 13.3% share in 2025. The company's breadth across tactical missiles, artillery propulsion, strategic components, and emerging hypersonic applications supports a diversified demand profile and makes capacity expansion commercially significant.
Nammo AS
Nammo's portfolio spans tactical missile motors, rocket-artillery propulsion, shoulder-launched systems, and specialized energetic products. Its expanding presence in allied supply chains reflects customers' interest in qualifying additional sources for critical propulsion programs.
Avio S.p.A.
Avio serves both launch and defense applications through its solid-propulsion capabilities. Its position in European launcher programs creates a differentiated role at the intersection of space infrastructure and defense-oriented propulsion development.
Roxel Group
Roxel specializes in tactical missile propulsion for European programs. Its expertise in composite and CMDB chemistries is particularly relevant where propulsion performance and signature characteristics are integral to missile-system differentiation.
Regional and Emerging Players
Regional producers including Roketsan, IHI Corporation, RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems, Hanwha Aerospace, Bayern-Chemie, and ArianeGroup serve nationally important defense and space programs while strengthening specialized production capabilities. Emerging entrants such as Ursa Major Technologies, X-Bow Systems, Anduril Industries, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, and Chemring Group are pursuing faster development cycles, adaptable propulsion architectures, energetics supply, and niche applications that could reshape selected portions of the competitive field.
Recent Industry Developments
L3Harris Technologies announced a follow-on contract to produce additional solid rocket motors for a precision-guided artillery system in December 2025. The award underscores the continued importance of capacity expansion and insensitive-munition propulsion output for artillery replenishment programs [6]L3Harris Technologies. "L3Harris to Produce Additional Solid Rocket Motors for Precision-Guided Artillery System." l3harris.com.
RTX's Raytheon awarded dual-source development contracts to Northrop Grumman and Nammo for the MK72 solid rocket motor in April 2025. The initiative signals a deliberate effort to broaden the qualified propulsion supplier base for naval missile programs and reduce sole-source exposure [7]RTX / Raytheon. "RTX's Raytheon Awards Dual-Source Contracts for Solid Rocket Motor Development." rtx.com.
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