In addition to propulsion technologies for military missiles, Bayern-Chemie also produces solid-fuel engines for the civilian sector, which are used for research rockets. After Bayern-Chemie began developing a completely ITAR-free propellant rocket engine on behalf of the German Aerospace Centre in 2020, the Red Kite went into series production in less than four years.

The development phase of the RED KITE solid-fuel rocket motor began in 2020 and was completed in September 2023. Final qualification burns took place at Esrange in Kiruna, Sweden. The burn-ups involved two identical engines, which had previously been tempered for a few days to the limits of their later range of use. These are -20°C and +50°C, which means that the motor can be used without any problems both in the harsh Arctic climate and in the hot, dry environment of Australian or American launch ranges. A new propellant has been developed for the solid-fuel rocket motor that fulfils the customer's requirements. The motor also uses a new type of igniter, which is equipped with a so-called Safe and Ignition Device (SID) and enables significantly safer operation. After completion of the development phase, the RED KITE engines went into series production in 2024.