Scott Alexander has more than 30 years of experience in missile defense, serving most recently as Vice President, Integrated Missile Defense Solutions, at Raytheon. In April, he joined the L3Harris Technologies team as President of Aerojet Rocketdyne’s Missile Solutions sector.
Missile Solutions President Scott Alexander meets Aerojet Rocketdyne team members at Missile Solutions HQ in Huntsville, Ala.
Q) What drew you to the defense industry?
A) When I was in high school, I watched President Reagan deliver what has come to be known as the “Star Wars” speech. In it, he outlined the intent of the U.S. to develop an anti-ballistic missile defense system that would make nuclear weapons “impotent and obsolete.” It was clear then, as it is now, that this industry is absolutely critical to our national security. I wanted to be a part of that. I joined my university Army ROTC program, through that program I was commissioned in the Army as an officer… and the rest is history. That same mission – playing my part protecting our nation from those who would do us harm – has been what’s kept me in the industry.
Q) Aerojet Rocketdyne (AR) propulsion plays a critical role in the Defense Department’s ability to achieve its strategic mission. What’s your vision for AR as you begin your tenure as President of the Missile Solutions sector?
A) Broadly, I want to remove road blocks so our Missile Solutions sector can do what it does best – produce world-class propulsion for critical defense applications. My goal is to empower decision making at every level to move things forward. Our mission is too important to do anything other than that.
Q) Your previous roles give you a valuable and unique perspective into Aerojet Rocketdyne propulsion programs. Can you talk about that and about your priorities for the Missile Solutions sector in the short and long term?
A) It seems like Aerojet Rocketdyne has always been a part of my work in one way or another. Earlier in my career, I was a program director for the Standard Missile-3 IIA program at Raytheon, which features Aerojet Rocketdyne solid rocket motors (SRMs) and divert and attitude control propulsion. In my most recent role as VP of integrated missile defense solutions at Raytheon, my team and I worked closely with Aerojet Rocketdyne as our propulsion supplier on several programs. I know how hard the AR team works. Their technical expertise is some of the best I’ve seen in the industry.
When it comes to our priorities, to put it simply, we need to increase deliveries, and I believe we accomplish that by retaining and growing our industry-leading team, fostering transparent customer communication around expectations and further investing in our supplier partners to create needed redundancy for critical SRM sub-components.
Q) What do you want Aerojet Rocketdyne customers to know as you take on this role?
A) Listen, we need to deliver. That is the bottom line. Since L3Harris acquired Aerojet Rocketdyne, significant progress has been made, including increasing motor deliveries and bolstering our suppliers. Being a part of a larger organization like L3Harris has given Aerojet Rocketdyne advantages it never had as a standalone company, including access to deeper resources and best-in-class operating procedures.
We’re currently investing – alongside our industry and government partners – significant resources to improve capacity with nearly a dozen new solid rocket motor manufacturing facilities coming online over the next few years.
I look forward to personally engaging with our customers about how we can best support them both in the short term and in the decades to come.
Q) There has been a lot of change since Aerojet Rocketdyne was acquired by L3Harris Technologies last July. What do you want the 2,400+ Aerojet Rocketdyne team members who support the Missile Solutions sector to know about the future?
A) We have come a long way since the acquisition closed last summer. I want our Missile Solutions team to know their work is important. What they do every day matters.
What I’ve told them is I want each of us to embrace the ‘propensity to action.’ Every role, at every level should be empowered to make the decisions needed to deliver on our commitments.
Our future here at Aerojet Rocketdyne is bright and the work the team does is meaningful and makes a difference on a global scale.
Q) The global security landscape is constantly evolving, highlighting a continued need for a strong national defense both for our nation and for our allies. Why is Aerojet Rocketdyne essential for the mission both today and moving forward?
A) If you turn on the news on any given day, you see our propulsion in action supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. That’s just one example of Aerojet Rocketdyne propulsion making a difference on the battlefield. It’s a proven capability that is necessary for today’s conflict and it will be necessary for the future protection of our country, allies and partners. We have work ahead of us to increase capacity, but if I may, to borrow a quote from that speech that inspired me to have a career in this industry a few decades ago, “results take time, but I believe we can do it.”
Full Biography
Scott Alexander has more than 30 years of experience in missile defense, serving most recently as Vice President, Integrated Missile Defense Solutions, at Raytheon. In this role, Scott was responsible for all P&L, business development and program development. He focused on the execution of strategic programs for the Missile Defense Agency and classified customers.
Prior to his Raytheon role, Scott was the Senior Vice President for Business Development for Teledyne Brown Engineering. Until 2012, Scott served as a Government Program Manager with the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) where he was a key senior civilian leader of the Directorate of Engineering (DE). In this capacity, he was Program Director for MDA’s model and simulations activities supporting missile defense capability development and MDA test activities. Scott served as a U.S. Army Acquisition Officer for 20 years with numerous Program Management leadership positions.
Scott holds a Master of Arts in procurement/acquisition management from Webster University, a Master of Science in international relations from Troy State University, a Bachelor of Science in economics from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh and a Bachelor of Science in political science from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh.