The Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a $4.7 million contract to conduct demonstration and validation (DemVal) studies on the Mk21 MIRV shroud for use on the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, according to a Defense Department notice posted yesterday. The service did not immediately respond yesterday to a Weapons Complex Morning Briefing request for comment. The Fiscal Year 2015 “cromnibus” appropriations bill did not allocate any funding specifically for the GBSD, the Minuteman 3 follow-on, though it did disperse $139.1 million for development of Minuteman 3 operational systems and $30.9 million for development of advanced Minuteman 3 components. Air Force officials have said multiple times that they plan to leverage current Minuteman 3 technologies into GBSD, which will be a new start program in FY 2016. The House-passed National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2016 would authorize $75 million for research and development on the weapon system.
AF Awards Contract for DemVal on Possible GBSD Component
B-21 developments: new Utah facility and Missouri storage
Northrop Grumman has opened a new manufacturing facility in Utah as the Air Force increases B-21 Raider production capacity, backed by billions of dollars in procurement funding for the next-generation nuclear-capable bomber. The company opened its 845,000-square-foot East Gate 3 facility in Layton, Utah, Sept. 9., according to a company release. The expansion brings Northrop’s […]