The Department of Defense has awarded two contracts in support of the Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) program. These awards, with a maximum value of $1.6 billion through fiscal year 2022, were awarded to Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp., both of whom plan to do some of the work in Huntsville.
The Missile Defense Agency, also based in Huntsville, made the awards with the idea that two designs would give more flexibility, at least through the technology development and risk reduction phase of the program. The NGI protects the country from intercontinental ballistic missile attack.
“Today’s awards are an important step in modernizing our Missile Defense System,” said Stacy Cummings, performing the duties of under secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. “NGI plays an important role in our homeland defense, and our acquisition strategy is ensuring the department maximizes innovation to keep pace with rapidly advancing threats.”
Northrop Grumman’s two competitive cost-plus-award fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-plus-incentive-fee contracts total $3.9 billion, with combined funding through fiscal 2022 limited to $1.6 billion. The company will perform the technology development and risk reduction on the NGI in Chandler, Arizona, and Huntsville.
Lockheed Martin Corp. was presented two competitive cost-plus-award-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-plus-incentive-fee contracts totaling nearly $3.7 billion, with combined funding though fiscal 2022 limited to $1.6 billion. Lockheed will perform the technology development and risk reduction of the NGI at Huntsville and Sunnyvale, California.
“NGI is the result of the first holistic technical assessment of homeland defenses the department has conducted since initial system operations began in 2004,” said Vice Adm. Jon Hill, director of the Missile Defense Agency. “By planning to carry two vendors through technology development, MDA will maximize the benefits of competition to deliver the most effective and reliable homeland defense missile to the warfighter as soon as possible. Once fielded, this new homeland defense interceptor will be capable of defeating expected threat advances into the 2030s and beyond.”
