The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) selected Lockheed Martin [LMT] Monday to continue development for the Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) over competitor
Northrop Grumman [NOC].
In 2021, MDA chose teams led by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to start initial technology development and risk reduction work for the NGI. At the time, MDA planned to continue the competition at least through the Critical Design Review (CDR) phase (Defense Daily, March 23, 2021).
NGI is MDA’s next interceptor meant to defend against North Korean missile threats in the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, improving upon the older Ground-Based Interceptors (GBIs).
MDA said in a statement that it plans to continue developing the NGI with Lockheed Martin through CDR, All-up Round qualification, integration and flight testing.
The agency said it will later award a follow-on production and emplacement contract with Initial Operational Capability planned for no later than the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2028.
“The American defense industry is one of our country’s greatest strengths, and having to decide between the two different design approaches was very difficult. That said, in our effort to Go Fast and Think Big, we are very confident in our decision to go with Lockheed Martin and its plans to develop and field a Next Generation Interceptor that will meet USNORTHCOM’s operational need and be ready for emplacement in 2028,” MDA Director Lt. Gen. Heath Collins said in a statement.
MDA previously said it plans to start the NGI program with at least 20 missiles to be installed in silos already built at Fort Greely, Alaska
Last year, former MDA Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill told a congressional panel that both competitors were working to be able to install the first NGI by 2027, a year earlier than the objective of 2028.
He also reiterated that maintaining the competition through CDR means MDA could option two production lines, even if only one design and supplier is used (Defense Daily, April 21, 2023).
However, last week current MDA Director Lt. Gen. Heath Collins told the House Armed Services’ Strategic Forces subcommittee the program had a change of plan to move from technology development to product development phase this month (Defense Daily, April 12).
Collins said the change of timeline was a combination of both fiscal pressures to cap some DoD funding from the Fiscal Responsibility Act and good technical developments from both teams.
Both competitors have finished their Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR) and Knowledge Points #1, full qualification of their parts for the radiation environment of space, and many subcomponents have reached the CDR design stage. Combined, he argued these factors allowed the agency to finish a best value determination.
“Due to accelerated contractor execution schedules, MDA had an appreciably larger body of technical knowledge and data available to assess contractor performance ahead of a traditional systems development at this point in the design maturation process,” Collins said.
However, he admitted there was no report or study justifying the early down-selection compared to the original plan to maintain competition through CDR.
On Monday, MDA reiterated successful completion of PDR and Knowledge Point #1 by both teams, maintaining competition through technology development and design activities “has already proven to be a key catalyst in support of the Department’s ability to field a system capable of addressing the expanding threat no later than 2028.”
“The successful completion of not one but two PDRs and KP #1s demonstrates the soundness of MDA’s acquisition approach and increases confidence in its ability to deliver a solution that meets cost, schedule, and performance requirements,” the agency added.
Last year, Lockheed Martin said it expected to reach CDR by the third quarter of fiscal year 2025 (Defense Daily, Oct. 16, 2023) while Northrop Grumman predicted the same in January (Defense Daily, Jan. 31).