ROME — Italian propulsion company Avio is inching closer to becoming a second source supplier of rocket engines for the Raytheon Standard Missile as demand soars.

The company has won a $26 million deal from Raytheon to push on with engineering work to become a supplier of the Mk 104 dual-thrust rocket motor which is used in the Standard Missile.

“The Mk 104 is the most widely used motor in the Standard Missile, andRaytheon wants a second source due to high demand,” Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo told Defense News.

The order from Raytheon follows an initial deal signed in July 2024 to get Avio started on preliminary engineering work to become a second source on the motor, which is now produced by Aerojet.

“This purchase order represents an important step in expanding our supply chain to ensure the resilience and availability of the Mk 104rocket motor,” Barbara Borgonovi, president of Naval Power at Raytheon, said in a statement.

“By strategically implementing second sourcing for critical materials, we are not only enhancing our ability to meet customer demand but also strengthening our production capacity for the Standard Missile franchise,” she added.

Ranzo told Defense News last year that Avio – Italy’s biggest rocket and missile motor manufacturer – would triple production within five years as the American military and industry look to it to ease a chronic production shortfall in the United States.

Avio is working on opening a U.S. production site, but will start out by working on the Mk 104 at its Colleferro site in Italy.

After the announcement of the new $26 million deal, Ranzo said Avio would start to manufacture components over the next 18 months for the purposes of qualifying as a second source.

“Initial production will start in two to two and a half years, first inItaly, then at our US facility,” he said. The firm has yet to announce where the U.S. site is planned.

Avio already works on the propulsion and other components for the Aster30 missile, as well as solid-propellant rocket motor of the new CAMM-ER air-defense missile, while its core business is space, putting 120 satellites into orbit in the last 12 years thanks to 24 launches of itsVega launcher.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.