Kratos selects Rangeview for superalloy turbine casting development
Kratos Defense and Security Solutions has awarded Rangeview Inc. a funded development contract to produce advanced cast superalloy components for its turbine engine programmes. The deal, announced on 30 July, covers the design and delivery of flight-quality hardware intended to support Kratos's ambitions in the jet-powered unmanned aerial systems and missile propulsion markets.
Rangeview, a robotics-enabled investment casting foundry also based in El Segundo, California, says it can take complex superalloy components from initial design to flight hardware in a fraction of the time associated with conventional casting supply chains. The company combines digital tooling and software-driven process control with traditional metallurgical expertise.
The deal
Russ Jones, Chief Engineer at Kratos, said Rangeview's process "enables complex geometries that previously required laser powder bed additive manufacturing but with high-capability cast superalloys", adding that the approach is accelerating Kratos's engineering timelines while preserving material properties needed for advanced turbine applications. Stacey Rock, President of Kratos's Turbine Technologies Division, described the agreement as part of a broader effort to solidify the supply chain ahead of large-volume production of jet engines for drones and missiles.
The contract value was not disclosed. The programme targets a component category that the US Department of Defense has identified as a critical gap in the domestic casting industrial base, a supply constraint that engine manufacturers have cited publicly as a leading bottleneck on gas turbine production.
Market context
The US defence propulsion sector is undergoing a notable shift. Demand for affordable, high-volume jet engines for autonomous systems and loitering munitions has grown sharply, driven in part by the operational lessons of recent conflicts. Legacy casting supply chains, concentrated among a handful of large aerospace foundries, have struggled to scale quickly enough to meet that demand. This has created an opening for technology-forward new entrants such as Rangeview, which positions itself as a next-generation domestic foundry using robotics and software to compress lead times.
Kratos has built a differentiated position in the affordable unmanned systems market, competing in a space where cost-per-unit economics matter as much as raw performance. The company's Turbine Technologies Division supplies propulsion to its own drone programmes as well as to external defence customers. Securing a faster, more flexible casting partner directly addresses one of the production-rate risks that investors and programme offices watch most closely.
The broader industrial base concern also carries a policy dimension. US defence procurement guidance, alongside the CHIPS and Science Act's broader push for domestic advanced manufacturing, has encouraged prime contractors and their suppliers to reduce dependence on offshore casting capacity, particularly for safety-critical turbine hardware. Rangeview's El Segundo location and its explicit US-manufacturing positioning appear designed to meet those requirements.
Outlook
For Rangeview, the Kratos award adds to a portfolio of funded programmes across propulsion, defence and energy customers, though the company has not disclosed revenue figures or the scale of its current production capacity. The key near-term milestones for the programme will be successful first-article qualification of flight-quality hardware and demonstrated compression of the traditional casting development timeline. Investors in the advanced manufacturing and defence supply chain space will be watching whether Rangeview can translate process speed into volume production as Kratos prepares for larger programme ramp-ups.