Marotta Controls, a Montville-based aerospace and defense company, said it has been awarded a U.S. patent for a control surface deployment and actuation mechanism designed to combine two functions into a single compact unit.
The company said it received U.S. Patent No. 12,287,181 for a design that integrates the deployment and movement of control surfaces, such as fins used on missiles, guided munitions and other maneuverable vehicles. Marotta said the approach is intended to save space, simplify integration and improve reliability by reducing the number of components involved.
The technology was developed by Marotta engineers Vito Guardi, Travis Spaulding, John Albright and Brett Seidman, the company said.
Marotta said that, traditionally, deployment and actuation have required separate mechanisms that take up space and can add potential points of failure. The patented solution uses a single drive train to release and control fins, eliminating the need for additional motors or release devices, the company said. Marotta described the design as particularly useful for space-constrained applications, including gun-launched munitions.
“This invention was born from a customer challenge where the available space simply couldn’t accommodate multiple mechanisms,” said Guardi, senior manager of mechanical engineering at Marotta Controls. “By rethinking how we deploy and drive fins, we developed a solution that not only fits the tight envelope but also enhances reliability and testability for high-performance systems.”
The company said the mechanism includes a resettable design that allows functional testing without sacrificing the hardware. Marotta said that differs from one-time-use devices that must be replaced after testing, enabling customers to reload and retest the system before field deployment.
While the patent was developed for a gun-launched guided round, Marotta said the design could be applied across other platforms, including torpedoes and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as systems where stowed control surfaces are beneficial for storage, transport or aerodynamic performance.
Marotta said the technology has been successfully tested in high-G environments and has demonstrated its ability to meet strict performance and integration requirements.
The company said the control surface mechanism marks one of two U.S. patents awarded to Marotta in 2025. The other, Marotta said, covers a synchronous rectification technique used in high-current power conversion.
Founded in 1943, Marotta Controls designs, develops and manufactures systems and sub-systems for aerospace and defense applications and said it holds more than 200 patents. The company describes itself as a family-owned small business based in New Jersey.
