2021/03/31 Forecast International: Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to Compete for Next-Generation Interceptor
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.
