Raytheon, Northrop to Continue Glide Phase Interceptor Work Under MDA Contract Options

Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX) and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) have received contract modifications worth at least $41 million each from the Missile Defense Agency to further develop their Glide Phase Interceptor designs for MDA’s regional hypersonic missile defense program.

MDA exercised options on other transaction agreements awarded in November 2021 to build GPI prototypes and the Department of Defense said Friday the contractors will continue to develop their designs through a system requirements review – prototype.

The modification awarded to Raytheon’s missile and defense business brings the total value of the OTA to approximately $62.4 million, while the contract option awarded to Northrop increases the agreement’s total amount to about $60.3 million.

Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Northrop will each get $36.9 million in research, development, test and evaluation funds at the time of award and perform work at their respective sites in Arizona, Alabama, California and Massachusetts through Feb. 15, 2023.

GPI is meant to provide the U.S. and its allies an additional defense layer against regional hypersonic missile threats by intercepting hypersonic weapons during the glide phase. MDA expects the interceptors to be integrated with the updated Baseline 9 Aegis weapon system and be fired using the Vertical Launch System aboard the Navy’s Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense destroyers.

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