Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC), in collaboration with the U.S. Air Force, completed the first qualification test of a stage-two solid rocket motor for the Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile at the Air Force Arnold Engineering Development Complex. The test was conducted in a vacuum chamber simulating flight conditions, allowing evaluation of the Thrust Vector Control system, which steers the missile. Engineers designed Sentinel in a digital model-based environment, which accelerates design, reduces costs, and minimizes the need to “bend metal” for each design enhancement. Engineers will compare performance data from the test to predictions from our digital models, validating the motor performs as expected. Qualification tests are designed to assure the rocket motor meets the Air Force’s exacting standards for quality and reliability.
Ben Davies, corporate vice president and president, Defense Systems, Northrop Grumman: “Developing the Sentinel Weapon System quickly is vital for national security. A digital-first approach helps us speed up the process and ensures the missile is mission-ready.”
Northrop Grumman and the Air Force have tested all three stages of the Sentinel missile. This test is the first of a series intended to validate digital models and finalize the stage-two rocket motor design. Each test will verify different motor components to reduce risk and refine the design. This test follows earlier tests of both stage-one and development-stage motors, providing critical data for continued progress in missile design, testing and support systems. The Sentinel Weapon System design maturation, missile testing, command and control mission equipment, communications, security and related support equipment continue to make significant progress.
Northrop Grumman Corporation, headquartered in West Falls Church, Virginia, is an aerospace manufacturer active in the arms industry and the space industry. The company is the 5th largest of the top 100 contractors of the U.S. federal government; it receives over 2% of total spending by the federal government of the United States on contractors. The company’s Aeronautics Systems division (29% of 2024 revenues) develops the B-21 Raider strategic bomber that can drop conventional and thermonuclear weapons, the B-2 Spirit strategic bomber (which will be replaced by the B-21), fuselage production for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter and F/A-18 Super Hornet, Grumman E-2 Hawkeye airborne early warning and control, MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicle, RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance aircraft, and the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Force.
