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2020-10-13

USAF Awards US$13 B ICBM Contract to Northrop Grumman

Recently, Northrop Grumman Corporation was selected by the U.S. Air Force to modernise the country’s ageing intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system under a US$13.3 billion contract. It was awarded for the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase of the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) programme.

The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center announced that the effort will span 8.5 years and include weapon system design, qualification, test and evaluation and nuclear certification. Upon successful completion of EMD, the Northrop Grumman team will begin producing and delivering a modern and fully integrated weapon system to meet the Air Force schedule of initial operational capability by 2029.

The EMD award follows a successful three-year technology maturation and risk reduction (TMRR) phase-one effort under the GBSD competition. The Northrop Grumman team has demonstrated innovation and agility by applying a digital engineering approach and has achieved all TMRR design review milestones on time and on cost.

Work on the programme will be performed at the Northrop Grumman GBSD facilities in Roy and Promontory, Utah, as well as other key company sites across the U.S.

Responsive System

“Modernising the nuclear strategic triad is a top priority of our military,” said U.S. Defense Secretary, Dr. Mark Esper. “It’s key to our nation’s defence. It provides that strategic nuclear deterrent that we depend on day after day – that we’ve depended on decade after decade.”

The programme advances United States ability to maintain a robust, flexible, tailorable and responsive strategic nuclear deterrent to meet current and changing global threats.

“I am fully confident in the evolutionary warfighting effectiveness GBSD will ensure,” said Gen. Tim Ray, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command. “We are leveraging stable requirements, modern technology, we own the technical baseline, and have a modular design to keep the programme rapid, relevant and affordable. The increased accuracy, extended range and improved reliability will provide the United States a broader array of options to address unforeseen contingencies, giving us the edge necessary to compete and win against any adversary.”

The GBSD ICBM is the follow-on to the ageing LGM-30G Minuteman III ICBM and first became operational in 1970. The GBSD ICBM will have increased accuracy, enhanced security and improved reliability to provide the U.S. with an upgraded and broader array of strategic nuclear options to address the threats of today and the future.

“Across the Department of the Air Force, we are looking for opportunities to inject innovation into programmes to stay ahead of our adversaries,” said Dr. Will Roper, assistant secretary of the U.S. Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics. “Our GBSD team is doing just that by leveraging a modular open system approach to ensure our next generation ICBM system is adaptable to challenges posed by the pace of technological advancements and new threat environments.”

The dispersed basing of the ground-based deterrent enhances strategic stability by creating an extraordinarily high threshold for a large-scale conventional or nuclear attack on the U.S. homeland. This investment will protect a vital leg of the nuclear triad, according to U.S. Strategic Command officials.

The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center is the lead for the Department of the Air Force’s GBSD acquisition effort. The centre is responsible for synchronising all aspects of nuclear materiel management on behalf of Air Force Materiel Command in direct support of AFGSC.

“This contract provides the best overall value to the warfighter and taxpayers,” said Brig. Gen. Anthony Genatempo, commander of Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center and Air Force program executive officer for strategic systems. “The GBSD programme is leveraging technologies to reduce the programme’s technical risk and ensure time-certain delivery to meet the warfighter’s needs. Its acquisition strategy focuses on mature technologies, smart commonality, modular designs and maintaining the Air Force’s ability to leverage competition throughout the weapon system’s lifecycle to ensure it will effectively adapt to evolving environments.”

The Northrop Grumman GBSD team includes Aerojet Rocketdyne, Bechtel, Clark Construction, Collins Aerospace, General Dynamics, HDT Global, Honeywell, Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Textron Systems, as well as hundreds of small and medium-sized companies from across the defence, engineering and construction industries. Overall, the GBSD programme will involve over 10,000 people across the U.S. directly working on this project.

Reference Text/Photo:www.af.mil ,www.northropgrumman.com

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