The Missile Defense Agency (MDA), in a competitive downselect phase, selected Lockheed Martin and partner Aerojet Rocketdyne and a Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Missiles & Defense team to develop and flight-test a Next-Generation Interceptor (NGI). A competing offer from a third team led by Boeing was not selected to move forward.
The NGI program is an element of the MDA’s Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, which is the primary U.S. missile defense system used to defend the country from long-range ballistic missile attacks.
Northrop Grumman’s contract was valued at $3.9 billion (base: $2.6 billion; options: $1.3 billion). Lockheed Martin’s award was $3.6 billion (base: $2.4 billion; options: $1.2 billion).
With an estimated maximum value of $1.6 billion through fiscal year 2022, this contract award is structured to carry two designs into the technology development and risk-reduction phase of the acquisition program to reduce technical and schedule risk. The DoD will uphold “fly before you buy” principles to ensure the overall system and components have been rigorously flight-tested prior to making any procurement decisions.
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A military history enthusiast, Richard began his career at Forecast International as editor of the World Weapons Weekly newsletter. As the Internet became central to defense research, he helped design the company’s Forecast Intelligence Center and now coordinates the FI Market Recap newsletters for clients. He also manages two blogs: Defense & Security Monitor, which covers defense systems and international security issues, and Flight Plan, focused on commercial aviation and space systems.
For more than 30 years, Richard has authored Defense & Aerospace Companies, Volume I (North America) and Volume II (International), providing detailed data on major aerospace and defense contractors. He also edits the International Contractors service, a database tracking all companies involved in programs covered by the FI library. Richard currently serves as Manager of the Information Services Group (ISG), which develops outbound content for both Forecast International and Military Periscope.
