US Missile Defense: Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a contract by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) for the Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) program, the company said on Tuesday.
In a statement, the Virginia based company said the contract was for the rapid development and flight test of an interceptor designed to defend the nation against the most complex long-range threats.
Northrop Grumman has strategically teamed with Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a business of Raytheon Technologies, to bring together the vast experience of the two companies on one team, to deliver an effective solution for MDA on an accelerated schedule, said the company.
The NGI program is an element of the MDA’s Ground-based Midcourse Defense System (GMD) which is the primary U.S. missile defense system used to defend the country from long-range ballistic missile attacks.
Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Missiles & Defense currently provide the interceptor booster, kill vehicle, ground systems, fire control and engagement coordination for the country’s GMD system.
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“We are honored to be selected by the MDA as prime contractor to develop the NGI system to protect our nation from advanced missile attacks,” said Scott Lehr, vice president and general manager, launch and missile defense, Northrop Grumman.
“There is a critical timeline for fielding this capability and our team brings together the industry’s top missile defense talent, agile design and manufacturing practices, and state-of-the-art operational factories to support the MDA and our nation’s defense against these evolving threats,” Scott Lehr added.
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The Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Missiles & Defense team brings decades of experience in all aspects of missile defense, along with the latest in Agile processes, artificial intelligence and model-based systems engineering to offer an affordable, low-risk solution to help ensure mission success.
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“We are bringing together next-generation technologies—digital engineering and game-changing discrimination—for an extremely advanced capability,” said Bryan Rosselli, vice president of Strategic Missile Defense at Raytheon Missiles & Defense.
“This team is building on unmatched experience, accounting for all 47 prior U.S. exo-atmospheric intercepts. With that knowledge, we are also embracing innovative ways to accelerate operational deployment while reducing risk,” Bryan Rosselli added.
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The contract, including flight test options, has a period of performance through 2029.
The companies’ NGI program team will be headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, with major operations in Chandler and Tucson, Arizona; and Magna, Utah, with an industry team located across the nation.