Missile Defense

The Defense Department last month launched a major overhaul of the nation’s ballistic missile defense system without first securing an independent cost estimate, eschewing what federal auditors say is a best practice for major weapon projects.

Raytheon Technologies and Northrop Grumman are teaming up to pursue the Next Generation Interceptor, narrowing the expected competitive field of potential prime contractors from four to three and pairing two companies that are effectively incumbents.

Lockheed Martin's preliminary design for the Sentinel A4 air defense radar passed muster with the Army this month, clearing the way for the defense contractor to begin drafting designs for the upgraded sensor which a company official said could launch a new line of business -- including foreign sales -- worth as much as $6 billion.

Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden said the contract to develop the Air Force's Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, expected to be awarded during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020, may be signed one or two months early.

The Space Acquisition Council met this week for an emergency session aimed at reaching consensus on how to help the space industry withstand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Missile Defense Agency is fleshing out its plan to potentially disaggregate the Ground-based Midcourse Defense sustainment contract, detailing the scope of Next Generation Interceptor development and procurement in a new solicitation that could set the stage for a major realignment of industry participation in the Pentagon's marquee homeland missile defense project as soon as fiscal year 2021.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) said today he doesn't think the Defense Department should receive industrial base stimulus money in an upcoming COVID-19 rescue package, but the DOD acquisition chief says the department is planning to ask for billions.

Supporters of the Iron Dome air defense system have rounded up nearly two-dozen congressional signatures on a letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, requesting a deployment plan for the Israeli-built system after the Army scrapped plans to incorporate the weapon system into its wide air and missile defense architecture.

The Pentagon today formally launched a competition for a Next-Generation Interceptor, the most significant overhaul of the nation's missile defense system since 2004, setting in motion a high-stakes acquisition that could leave the United States vulnerable to North Korean threats if the project is delayed and promising, but unproven, back-up capabilities don't materialize as planned.