Ursa Major Taps Industry Vets to Fuel Production for National Defense

BERTHOUD, Colo. – February 04, 2026 – Ursa Major is making a significant strategic pivot, signaling its evolution from a research and development powerhouse to a full-scale production leader with the appointment of two seasoned aerospace and defense executives. The company announced that Jason Meredith will lead its solid rocket motor division as President of Solid Missile Systems, while Justin Siebert will oversee manufacturing scale-up as the new Chief Operating Officer. These high-profile hires are central to the company's mission to address critical gaps in the U.S. defense industrial base, particularly in the production of solid rocket motors and hypersonic technologies.

An Executive Power Play for Production Scale

The new appointments bring decades of specialized experience from some of the largest players in the defense industry, a clear signal that Ursa Major is prioritizing operational execution. Jason Meredith joins from Northrop Grumman, where he served as a Vice President. His extensive career, which also includes leadership roles at Orbital ATK and Pratt & Whitney, has been deeply rooted in the engineering, program execution, and business management of complex aerospace systems. His deep expertise in solid rocket motor programs is seen as vital for Ursa Major's ambition to become a major supplier in a market long dominated by a handful of legacy contractors.

Joining him is Justin Siebert as Chief Operating Officer, an executive with a proven track record of managing complex manufacturing environments. Siebert's experience spans Fortune 100 companies and private equity-backed organizations, including operational leadership roles at Firefly Aerospace, BAE Systems, and Honeywell Aerospace. His most recent position as COO of ArmorWorks LLC honed his skills in scaling production for defense applications. His background in large launch space propulsion and manufacturing rigor is expected to be the driving force behind Ursa Major's ability to ramp up production across its entire portfolio.

"We're entering a phase of our company where execution and scale matter as much as innovation," said Dan Jablonsky, CEO of Ursa Major, in a statement. He emphasized that Siebert's operational leadership is needed as the company scales multiple programs, while Meredith's experience is "instrumental as we build on our manufacturing approach and evolve into a major provider of solid missile systems." Jablonsky framed the hires as a move to restore "capacity and resilience to a strained industrial base."

Addressing a Strained Defense Industrial Base

The strategic hires at Ursa Major are not happening in a vacuum. They are a direct response to well-documented vulnerabilities within the U.S. defense industrial base. For decades, consolidation has shrunk the number of suppliers for critical components like solid rocket motors, creating potential bottlenecks and reducing the nation's ability to surge production in a crisis. This has been a growing concern at the Pentagon, which is actively seeking to foster competition and onboard new, agile suppliers.

The market for solid rocket motors, essential for everything from tactical missiles to strategic deterrents, has been particularly constrained. Ursa Major's stated goal of becoming a major provider directly addresses this strategic imperative. By building a new, modern production capability, the company aims to offer the Department of Defense an alternative source and add much-needed depth to the supply chain.

Simultaneously, the U.S. is in a high-stakes technological race with global adversaries in the field of hypersonics. Developing and fielding weapons that can travel at more than five times the speed of sound is a top national security priority. This requires a robust industrial ecosystem capable of producing the advanced propulsion systems, materials, and components necessary for these next-generation systems. Ursa Major is positioning itself at the heart of this effort, with programs like its Draper engine and the Affordable Rapid Missile Demonstrator aimed squarely at the hypersonics challenge.

The Manufacturing Engine Behind the Mission

Underpinning Ursa Major's ambitious goals is a foundation of advanced manufacturing and a growing infrastructure designed for speed and flexibility. The company is moving beyond simply innovating new engine designs; it is building the factory of the future to produce them at scale.

A cornerstone of this strategy is the proprietary 'Lynx manufacturing approach' for solid rocket motors. While technical details are closely guarded, the approach is designed to enable a production rate of 200 SRMs per year. This figure represents a significant increase in domestic capacity and is achieved through what is believed to be a combination of automation, modular design, and streamlined production workflows. This modern approach stands in contrast to the more traditional, often bespoke, manufacturing processes that have characterized the industry, promising to reduce lead times and costs.

This focus on production is not limited to SRMs. Ursa Major is already in full-scale production of its flight-proven Hadley liquid rocket engine, which serves both launch and hypersonic applications. This existing production line provides a proven model and valuable experience for the company as it scales other programs.

Supporting this production surge is a recent, major expansion of the company's test facility in Weld County, Colorado. A production line is only as good as its ability to validate its products, and the expanded site provides the necessary capacity to test engines and motors at a high tempo. This infrastructure is crucial for quality control, rapid design iteration, and the formal qualification of systems destined for national security missions. The investment ensures that as Ursa Major's factories increase their output, the company can rigorously test and prove every system that rolls off the line, delivering reliable and scalable American-made capabilities for hypersonics and missile systems. The synergy between new leadership, innovative manufacturing, and robust infrastructure forms the three pillars of Ursa Major's strategy to redefine its role in the nation's defense.