L3Harris names new head of newly acquired Aerojet Rocketdyne

Aerojet Rocketdyne tests a solid rocket motor it developed for the US Air Force Research Laboratory. (Aerojet Rocketdyne)

US defence contractor L3Harris Technologies has installed a new leader at Aerojet Rocketdyne following its acquisition of the California-based propulsion manufacturer.

Ross Niebergall, former chief technology officer at L3Harris, has been appointed president of Aerojet Rocketdyne, which became L3Harris' fourth business segment after the USD4.7 billion purchase closed on 28 July. He replaces Eileen Drake, who was the CEO of Aerojet Rocketdyne before the acquisition. An L3Harris spokesperson declined to say why the leadership change was made.

Aerojet Rocketdyne employs about 5,000 people, and its products are used in missiles and launch vehicles. L3Harris said the acquisition, which it first disclosed in December 2022, will diversify its portfolio. Its other three business segments are Communication Systems, Integrated Mission Systems, and Space and Airborne Systems. Drake said in December that Aerojet Rocketdyne would gain access to “substantial expertise and resources” by joining a larger company like L3Harris.

The closing of the Aerojet Rocketdyne deal came two days after L3Harris announced that anti-trust regulators had decided not to block the transaction.

Meanwhile, L3Harris, which acquired Viasatʼs Tactical Data Link (TDL) business for USD2 billion in January, is moving TDL's production to Salt Lake City, Utah, where its Broadband Communications Systems (BCS) sector is headquartered, according to L3Harris chair and CEO Chris Kubasik.

More than half of TDL's production lines have made the move, and they have “already built first articles with no issues”, Kubasik told analysts on 27 July. “It's never easy to move a production line, or several production lines, but that's going better than planned.”