A Northrop Grumman– [NOC] led team recently supported the successful reliability testing of the Air Force’s Minuteman III ICBM weapons system, according to a company statement.
The Feb. 25 operational test launch proceeded as planned with the missile traveling roughly 4,800 miles in 30 minutes, according to a statement. The Minuteman III carried a single Mk21 re-entry vehicle specially instrumented to measure operational performance parameters such as in-flight reliability and accuracy, according to a statement.
Additional Minuteman III tests are scheduled for May 16 and Aug. 22, according to a Northrop Grumman spokesman.
The re-entry vehicle landed on a target in a pre-designated area within the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site near Kwajalein Atoll in the western chain of the Marshall Islands. Operational tests were conducted by maintenance and operations personnel from the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., with the aide and oversight of the 576th Test Squadron, according to a statement.
The Northrop Grumman-led ICBM prime team includes Boeing [BA], Lockheed Martin [LMT], ATK [ATK] and more than 20 subcontractors, according to a statement. The ICBM team is responsible for overall sustainment of the weapon system including development, production, deployment and system modifications, according to a statement.