Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Huntsville, Alabama is being awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a maximum amount of $3,286,745,005. Under this new contract, the contractor will design, develop, test, and field the next Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Weapon System (GWS) Program. The GWS contract covers the systems engineering, design, development, integration, testing, and fielding of GWS software and hardware meeting warfighter needs, new requirements (e.g. Next Generation Interceptor (NGI)) and evolving threats with greater reliability, availability, maintainability and testability than the current system. Delivery Order 0001 in the amount of $716,090,100; Delivery Order 0002 in the amount of $423,546,873; and Task Order 0001 in the amount of $115,299,142 are being issued at this time. The work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama. The ordering period is from July 29, 2022, through July 29, 2027. This contract was competitively procured via publication on the Government-wide Point of Entry website with one proposal received. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity (HQ0856-22-D-0001).
GMD is the heart of the Missile Defense System and a key element of our nation’s defense against ballistic missile attacks. The GMD Weapon System processes data from multiple sensors to identify and characterize the inbound ballistic missile threat, plans the best defensive solution, and launches the intercepting missiles to negate the threat. Since the 1980s, Northrop Grumman has led the field in research and development of major missile defense initiatives. The concept behind GMD originated with President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), and took form under President Bill Clinton’s National Missile Defense (NMD) program. In 2004, President George W. Bush declared the system operational and capable of limited defensive operations. The GMD system was expanded to include 44 interceptors under President Obama. The current GMD Weapon System is capable of intercepting ICBM-class threats to defend the nation against missile strikes from rogue nations. The GMD Weapon System has been proven through operational flight tests spanning the Pacific Ocean. Northrop Grumman upgrades early warning radars and is developing the space-based Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) to detect, track, and discriminate threatening enemy missile launches.
Northrop Grumman’s GMD Weapon System (GWS) is the integrating component of homeland defense, developing integrated battle plans based on sensor data and facilitating the warfighter’s usage of GBI’s to mitigate the threat. We provide the following GWS products:
The GMD Fire Control is the true “brains of the operation,” providing the threat assessment and engagement planning functionality of the system.
The GMD Communication Network provides connectivity to all GMD assets and links GMD to external sensors and systems.
The Launch Management System is the pre-launch interface between the GMD Fire Control and the interceptor, providing control of the interceptor launch.
The In-Flight Interceptor Communication System is the post-launch interface between the GMD Fire Control and the interceptor, providing updated target information to the kill vehicle during flight.
The GMD program is an element of the MDA’s Ballistic Missile Defense System. Northrop Grumman Corporation 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.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. Northrop Grumman has provided critical elements of the GMD program for more than two decades. 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 country, warfighters and allies.
