Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC), under contract to Boeing, successfully completed a critical non-intercept flight test (BTV-03) of the Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA). The flight test successfully demonstrated company-developed software that enables upgraded booster capability and enhances America’s homeland defense. Northrop Grumman has provided critical elements of the GMD program for more than two decades.
“This flight test demonstrated a Northrop Grumman-designed upgrade that enables a new capability for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system,” said Scott Lehr, vice president and general manager, launch and missile systems defense, Northrop Grumman. “GMD is our nation’s only standing defense against rogue state long-range ballistic missiles, which is why we are committed to ensuring our country is always one step ahead of our adversaries.”
The GMD program is an element of the MDA’s Ballistic Missile Defense System. Its mission is to protect the United States by destroying intermediate- and long-range incoming ballistic missile threats in space. Northrop Grumman serves as a strategic partner to Boeing for the GMD program, providing the interceptor boost vehicle as well as the development, integration, operations and sustainment of the ground systems. The company is also the leading provider of target vehicles to MDA, allowing U.S. missile defense systems to be operationally tested – validating their effectiveness in protecting our country, warfighters and allies.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world’s largest weapons manufacturers and military technology providers. Among its other current projects are development and production of the James Webb Space Telescope, an orbiting observatory slated for launch in 2021; and production of the solid rocket boosters for NASA’s Space Launch System program. It was the sole bidder on the Air Force’s Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program, which aims to develop and build a new intercontinental ballistic missile.
