A factory that produced intercontinental ballistic missiles explodes in the US

On the morning of 16 April, at 7:38 a.m., an explosion completely destroyed a building at the Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems plant in Promontory, Utah. It is at this facility that solid rocket engines for US strategic and defence systems are manufactured.

Here's What We Know

The company confirmed the incident but refrained from explaining its causes. It said that employees who were in or near the building were not seriously injured and are under medical supervision.

Before the takeover in 2018, the plant was owned by Orbital ATK and was one of the key manufacturers of solid rocket engines in the United States. It worked on behalf of the US Air Force, NASA and commercial aerospace companies.

Air and Space Forces suggests that these facilities could have been involved in the production of the next-generation LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental missile, of which the US planned to purchase 659 units. The last known test at the plant, a static launch of the Sentinel's first stage engine, took place on 6 March 2025.

In addition, Northrop Grumman plays an important role in the joint US-Japan hypersonic missile project, the Glide Phase Interceptor. It is responsible for the development of the second stage solid rocket engine and the launch booster. After winning the tender over Raytheon, the company had to complete flight tests of the prototype.

The scale of the explosion and the destruction of one of the main production buildings raises concerns about potential delays in the implementation of key defence programmes. It is not yet known whether critical technologies or research equipment were damaged. There is also no information on the state of production and possible timeline for resuming work at the facility.

Source: KSL News