Berthoud Rocket Maker Ursa Major Hires Aerospace Veterans to Ramp Rocket Motor Production

Ursa Major hired two veteran aerospace executives to lead production scaling at its Weld County facility, targeting 200 solid rocket motors annually. The Berthoud-based company named Jason Meredith President of Solid Missile Systems and Justin Siebert Chief Operating Officer.

The hires signal Northern Colorado's emergence as a defense manufacturing hub for hypersonic propulsion.

Meredith spent 20 years at Northrop Grumman, Orbital ATK, and Pratt & Whitney in senior aerospace roles. Siebert previously served as Chief Operating Officer of ArmorWorks LLC and held leadership positions at Firefly Aerospace, BAE Systems, Magellan Aerospace, and Honeywell Aerospace.

"We're entering a phase where execution and scale matter as much as innovation," said Dan Jablonsky, CEO of Ursa Major. "Siebert and Meredith bring the operational rigor and manufacturing leadership we need to ramp production and deliver at the speed national security demands. Together, their leadership strengthens our ability to move faster, produce more, and deliver real capability where it matters most."

The U.S. Navy jointly invested $25 million with Ursa Major to mature manufacturing processes and produce a prototype solid rocket motor, channeling federal defense dollars directly into Colorado-based production capacity.

The 400-acre Weld County facility—designed for full-scale static firings and qualification testing—is central to the production ramp. Ursa Major is ramping production using its Lynx manufacturing approach.

The moves underscore Northern Colorado's growing role in U.S. defense manufacturing, particularly solid rocket motor production. The company is already producing its Hadley liquid rocket engine for hypersonic and launch applications.