The Department of Defense has increased by $128.5 million the value of a Boeing Co. contract to support the nation’s Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system.
The modification increases the value of the contract from $11.2 billion to $11.3 billion and covers work through September 2022.
The scope of work under the contract modification calls for “manufacturing C2 boost vehicles, booster spare parts and associated avionics to maintain fleet and flight test programs,” according to DOD documents.
“Boeing has led the industry team as prime contractor and system architect since inception of the GMD program,” the company said, adding that much of the engineering and other expert work is being performed at the company’s Huntsville site.
On its corporate website, Boeing describes the GMD system as the nation’s “only operationally deployed missile defense program capable of defending the entire U.S. homeland (including Alaska and Hawaii) against long-range ballistic missile attacks.
“GMD is designed to detect, intercept and destroy long-range ballistic missiles during their midcourse phase of flight. The system provides early detection and tracking during the boost and midcourse phase, as well as target discrimination, precision intercept and destruction of the target through force of collision.
“GMD is an integral element of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s layered ballistic missile defense architecture. As prime contractor, Boeing designs, produces, integrates, tests and sustains all GMD components deployed across 15 time zones.”
Boeing has been prime contractor and system architect for more than 18 years. During that time 11 of 19 tests have resulted in successful intercepts.
