Northrop Gets $13.3B Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent ICBM Development Contract; Kathy Warden Quoted

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) a potential $13.3B contract to build the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent intercontinental ballistic missile system.

The engineering and manufacturing development contract covers weapon system design, test and evaluation, qualification and nuclear certification to replace the country’s aging ICBM system, Northrop said Tuesday.

Northrop will lead a team of companies to build a new platform to replace the Minuteman III ICBM system. The team includes Aerojet Rocketdyne (NYSE: AJRD), Bechtel, Clark Construction, Collins Aerospace, General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), HDT Global, Honeywell (NYSE: HON), Kratos Defense and Security Solutions (Nasdaq: KTOS), L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), Textron Systems.

“Our nation is facing a rapidly evolving threat environment and protecting our citizens with a modern strategic deterrent capability has never been more critical,” said Kathy Warden, chairman, CEO and president of Northrop and a 2020 Wash100 awardee.

Warden added the company-led team will leverage its over 65 years of technical experience in ICBM to deliver a secure platform to the Air Force.

Work on the GBSD program will be performed for a period of eight and a half years at several facilities across the U.S. and the service expects the new ICBM system to achieve initial operational capability by 2029.

Northrop submitted its bid for the GBSD program late last year.

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