Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad

The Navy awarded Lockheed Martin a $419 million modification to a previously unpriced letter contract for new procurement of Trident II (D5) missile production, life extension production, and deployed systems support. The maximum value of the modification, including all options if exercised, could reach $1.1 billion. The work, including options, is expected to be finished […]

Marc Selinger Defense Daily The U.S. Air Force has picked Lockheed Martin and Rockwell Collins to begin designing a replacement for the aging Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS), which allows command-and-control aircraft to launch land-based, nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Rockwell Collins have been awarded three-year contracts valued at $80.8 million and $76.3 million, […]

The U.S. Air Force has picked Lockheed Martin and Rockwell Collins to begin designing a replacement for the aging Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS), which allows command-and-control aircraft to launch land-based, nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Rockwell Collins have been awarded three-year contracts valued at $80.8 million and $76.3 million, respectively, for the ALCS […]

Marc Selinger Defense Daily The U.S. Air Force, which awarded two contracts last month to mature designs for the Ground-based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), plans to hold the program’s first major review next month, a program official said Sept. 28. The system requirements review will ensure the prime contractors, Boeing [BA] and Northrop Grumman [NOC], fully […]

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The U.S. Air Force intends to conduct a “deep dive” on the B-2 Spirit to determine how that bomber program’s strengths and weaknesses could guide the development of the B-21 Raider, according to a service official. The deep dive is designed to prevent the B-21 from experiencing the kind of cost and […]

Northrop Grumman’s proposed $7.8 billion acquisition of Orbital ATK will drive improved affordability for its customers, strengthen its competitiveness in a number of areas such as space and missile defense systems, and help spur innovation, Wes Bush, Northrop Grumman’s chairman, president, and CEO, said Monday on an investor call. Bush said that the operating environment in space […]

Calvin Biesecker Defense Daily The Navy on Thursday awarded the submarine building division of General Dynamics [GD] a $5.1 billion contract to complete design work on the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines. The detailed design award, which includes $175.1 million in initial funding, is for the Integrated Product and Process Development and additional work, including “component and […]

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The U.S. Air Force intends to conduct a “deep dive” on the B-2 Spirit to determine how that bomber program’s strengths and weaknesses could guide the development of the B-21 Raider, according to a service official. The deep dive is designed to prevent the B-21 from experiencing the kind of cost and […]

Northrop Grumman’s proposed $7.8 billion acquisition of Orbital ATK will drive improved affordability for its customers, strengthen its competitiveness in a number of areas such as space and missile defense systems, and help spur innovation, Wes Bush, Northrop Grumman’s chairman, president, and CEO, said Monday on an investor call. Bush said that the operating environment in space […]

Defense Daily Boeing will not challenge contracts the Air Force awarded to Lockheed Martin and Raytheon to mature designs for the Long-Range Standoff Weapon (LRSO), a replacement for the aging, nuclear-armed, air-launched cruise missile. “We received the customer debrief and after reviewing the information, Boeing has decided not to protest the Air Force’s decision” on […]

Boeing will not challenge contracts the Air Force awarded to Lockheed Martin and Raytheon to mature designs for the Long-Range Standoff Weapon (LRSO), a replacement for the aging, nuclear-armed, air-launched cruise missile. “We received the customer debrief and after reviewing the information, Boeing has decided not to protest the Air Force’s decision” on LRSO, Boeing […]

Lockheed Martin, which recently lost a competition to mature designs for the U.S. Air Force’s Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), announced Aug. 30 that it has chosen not to challenge the contracts awarded to two rivals. “After receiving a debrief and reviewing information provided, Lockheed Martin has accepted the Air Force’s decision on the Ground […]

The Pentagon should not have rushed to hand out more than $1 billion in contracts to modernize U.S. nuclear missiles before the Donald Trump administration completes the Nuclear Posture Review it started in January, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said Sunday. “We should not be doubling down on these legacy nuclear […]

Lockheed Martin, which recently lost a competition to mature designs for the U.S. Air Force’s Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), announced Aug. 30 that it has chosen not to challenge the contracts awarded to two rivals. “After receiving a debrief and reviewing information provided, Lockheed Martin has accepted the Air Force’s decision on the Ground Based […]

The Pentagon should not have rushed to hand out more than $1 billion in contracts to modernize U.S. nuclear missiles before the Donald Trump administration completes the Nuclear Posture Review it started in January, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said Sunday. “We should not be doubling down on these legacy nuclear […]

Boeing and Northrop Grumman have been awarded technology maturation and risk reduction contracts valued at $349.2 million and $328.6 million, respectively, over three years. “The companies selected were determined to provide the best overall value to the warfighter and taxpayers based on the source selection’s evaluation factors — technical approach/technical risk and cost/price,” the Air […]

Aerojet Rocketdyne and Orbital ATK both announced late Aug. 21 that they have joined the Northrop Grumman team that will compete against Boeing to develop the U.S. Air Force’s Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD). Northrop Grumman spokesman Tim Paynter said that “both Aerojet Rocketdyne and Orbital ATK are providing propulsion solutions.” While Orbital ATK declined […]

Lockheed Martin and Raytheon received contracts Aug. 23 to mature designs for the Long Range Standoff Weapon (LRSO), a replacement for the U.S. Air Force’s aging, nuclear-armed, air-launched cruise missile (ALCM). Each company has been awarded a 54-month contract valued at about $900 million for the program’s technology maturation and risk reduction (TMRR) phase. When […]

Lockheed Martin and Raytheon received contracts Aug. 23 to mature designs for the Long Range Standoff Weapon (LRSO), a replacement for the U.S. Air Force’s aging, nuclear-armed, air-launched cruise missile (ALCM). Each company has been awarded a 54-month contract valued at about $900 million for the program’s technology maturation and risk reduction (TMRR) phase. When the contracts wrap […]

Aerojet Rocketdyne and Orbital ATK both announced late Aug. 21 that they have joined the Northrop Grumman team that will compete against Boeing to develop the U.S. Air Force’s Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD). Northrop Grumman spokesman Tim Paynter said that “both Aerojet Rocketdyne and Orbital ATK are providing propulsion solutions.” While Orbital ATK declined to discuss its […]

Boeing [BA] and Northrop Grumman [NOC] have edged out Lockheed Martin [LMT] for contracts to mature designs for the Ground-based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), the replacement for the Air Force’s aging, nuclear-armed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the service announced late Aug. 21. “We are moving forward with modernization of the ground-based leg of the nuclear triad,” Air Force Secretary […]

The U.S. Air Force plans to finish a study later this year on the potential impact of changing existing law to allow surplus intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) motors to be used on commercial space launches, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a new report Aug. 16 While the Department of Defense and NASA use […]

The U.S. Air Force does not have adequate resources to address the long-term needs of its nuclear command, control and communications (NC3) systems, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said Aug. 15. “We found that the Air Force has continued to take steps to provide an Air Force-wide NC3 oversight structure for the NC3 Weapon System, […]

The U.S. Air Force on Wednesday launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as a test of the accuracy and reliability of the weapon system, a key component of the U.S. nuclear deterrent. Airmen from the Global Strike Command’s 90th Missile Wing, based at F.E. Warren Air […]

Marc Selinger Defense Daily The U.S. military should continue improving its stealth aircraft technology to keep its advantage over possible rivals in the coming decades, according to a report released Aug. 2 by the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute. Stealth aircraft have played an important role in U.S. operations since the 1991 Persian Gulf War, […]

Rich Abott Defense Daily Building a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) will be cheaper than upgrading the 1970s-era Minuteman III, a Boeing official said on Wednesday. Frank McCall, Boeing vice president for strategic deterrence systems, said affordability is just one of several reasons why the Air Force’s Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) plan to replace the Minuteman […]

Marc Selinger Defense Daily The U.S. Department of Defense’s nuclear posture review is looking at whether the schedule for replacing the three legs of the aging nuclear triad should be revised, a Pentagon official said Aug. 3. Asked whether the Air Force should speed up the land-based leg, the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), Air […]

The U.S. Air Force on Wednesday launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as a test of the accuracy and reliability of the weapon system, a key component of the U.S. nuclear deterrent. Airmen from the Global Strike Command’s 90th Missile Wing, based at F.E. Warren Air […]

Marc Selinger Defense Daily The U.S. Air Force is consulting closely with lawmakers on the bomber roadmap that it plans to unveil in September, the service’s top general said July 26. “We’re in the process right now of doing something that we’ve been accused in the past of not doing really well, and that is […]

The U.S. Air Force is consulting closely with lawmakers on the bomber roadmap that it plans to unveil in September, the service’s top general said July 26. “We’re in the process right now of doing something that we’ve been accused in the past of not doing really well, and that is including Congress in the […]