- Northrop has secured a new missile defense test support contract
- The award is structured as a nine-year follow-on effort
- Work spans three states, including sites in Arizona and Maryland
Northrop Grumman has received a potential nine-year, $508.5 million follow-on contract from the Missile Defense Agency to provide flight test support for ballistic missile targets.
What Is the Scope of the MDA Contract?
Under the cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, the Department of War said Friday Northrop will provide flight test support for the remaining Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile and Intercontinental Ballistic Missile targets, along with integrated logistics support for all government-furnished equipment used in Missile Defense System testing.
Work will be carried out in Chandler, Arizona; Corinne, Utah; and Elkton, Maryland, with a performance period running from September 2026 through August 2035.
MDA is the contracting activity and is obligating $8.8 million in fiscal 2026 research, development, test and evaluation funds.
In May 2025, MDA awarded Northrop a $25.7 million contract modification to extend target system manufacturing and support work into fiscal 2026, bringing the cumulative value of the underlying contract from $1.9 billion to $1.92 billion.
Why Did MDA Plan to Award Northrop a Follow-On Contract?
In February 2024, MDA issued a special notice notifying industry of its intent to award a sole-source and follow-on contract to Northrop under statutory authority permitting noncompetitive awards when only one source can meet the agency’s requirements. The planned extension was tied to additional time needed to complete pre-mission analysis work ahead of a scheduled flight test.
The follow-on effort, structured around a multiyear base period, was intended to sustain integration and launch support for the remaining ballistic missile targets in inventory once the prior contract’s period of performance ended. MDA cited Northrop’s role as the original equipment manufacturer, along with its technical data and program history, as the basis for limiting competition on the requirement.
How Does the Contract Align With Northrop’s Missile Defense Portfolio?
The latest award follows closely on the heels of several other missile defense-related developments for Northrop. The company recently conducted the maiden flight of its redesigned ICBM target vehicle, a system built to simulate long-range ballistic missile threats for testing. That effort sits within a larger industrywide buildup around the Golden Dome missile defense initiative, which has driven a wave of contract activity across the sector this year.
Northrop’s role in this space extends beyond target vehicles. DOW awarded Northrop, in coordination with Lockheed Martin, two framework agreements worth more than $3 billion for PAC-3 and THAAD production, reinforcing its position across both the interceptor and target sides of missile defense testing. Separately, Northrop was awarded a $94 million Navy contract to develop a 21-inch diameter second-stage solid rocket motor.
