The Hercules Powder Company was specialized in solid fuel rocket engines for surface-to-air, air-to-air and air-to-surface (or air-to-surface) missiles, as they say to expand to anti-ship use).

-As from 1966 the company was called Hercules Inc.

-Eventually their engines have also been used for launch vehicles, such as the powerful GEM-26 that weighs 19,300 Kgs with a thrust of 62,000 Kgf used in the Delta 3 and 7000H. (See Alliant Techsystems (ATK).)

-These were the first Sidewinder engines. The Hercules MK-58 on the Sparrow. The Little John missile was powered by a Hercules-Powder engine as well.

-We have seen them on the USRM from 1997-98, Timberwind and Titan 4B giving 771,000 Kgf for 140 seconds.

-This manufacturer of solid-fuel rocket engines joined Alleghany after the WWII, and currently, both are absorbed by Alliant Techsystems (ATK).

“Hercules rocket engine at the NASM”

-Precisely at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington there is an assortment of this brand's engines.

-They are used on Pegasus and Taurus and Orion rockets, and on the XL-1 and XL-2 in different versions.

-And they were also as retro-rockets like the SR-9 and SR-11 on the LGM-30.

-Hercules' Aerospace in McGregor, Texas made an interesting rocket with a two-stage engine. The first solid-fuel one acted as a booster for launching, then at cruise speed an air intake was opened and air was introduced into the same combustion chamber of the previous stage together with fuel (gas produced by a generator) and was ignited.

“First stage (booster)”

“Second stage (ramjet)”

"Rocket shape in almost posterior view"

-The project was sponsored by the USAF.

From Appendix 6: Hercules Powder solid rocket motors, also Hercules / Bermite are used in the Sidewinder air-to-air missiles AIM-9D/G/H and in the more modern AIM-9L/M and the latest 9X.

-It is the MK-36 engine and an AIM-9X missile that are shown below thanks to a photograph from Raytheon.

“AIM-9X”