Lockheed Martin [LMT] and its strategic partner Raytheon [RTN] and the Boeing [BA] and Northrop Grumman [NOC] teams have submitted final proposals for future work on the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) element of the U.S. ballistic missile defense system (BMDS).
The contract award is expected by the end of the year, a date MDA pushed back from the initial expected award date of May 2011, “in the best interest of the government,” an agency statement said in June. The request for proposals for the anticipated seven-year contract was released in December 2010.
The contract is to provide development, manufacturing, test, training, performance-based logistics, operations and sustainment of the GMD element of the BMDS. The GMD element provides combatant commanders the capability to engage and destroy limited intermediate- and long-range ballistic missile threats in the midcourse battle space to protect the United States.
The Lockheed Martin-Raytheon team delivered its final offer Nov. 18 to the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA’s) GMD Joint Program Office in Huntsville, Ala. The team submitted its initial proposal in January and a proposal update in September.
“The entire Lockheed Martin-Raytheon team has worked together as partners in a transparent environment throughout the GMD Development and Sustainment Contract pursuit,” said Mathew Joyce, GMD vice president and program manager, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. “As a result, our team delivered a thorough and comprehensive proposal that represents all of our capabilities. The Lockheed Martin-Raytheon team is committed to this mission, and we are continuing to work together to prepare for a robust start-up that will deliver an effective, affordable GMD program.”
Wes Kremer, Raytheon vice president of Air and Missile Defense Systems, said: “Raytheon is proud of its role as the developer and producer of the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle. The Lockheed Martin-Raytheon team is well positioned to provide the nation with the right solution for defeating intermediate- and long-range ballistic missile threats.”
Boeing and Northrop Grumman said in a statement, “Our final proposal for the GMD development and sustainment contract represents the best our companies have to offer for the future of the ballistic missile defense program. We are confident that our offer maintains mission readiness and demonstrates flexibility for this next phase of the program’s lifecycle.
“The final proposal is the culmination of a process that brought together a broad industry group — selected for extensive heritage GMD expertise–to deliver the best value and lowest risk to the customer. For the past two years, we have worked to prepare an expansive proposal building on our experience as GMD’s industry leader and outlining innovative solutions and a cost-effective approach to program management and execution.”
The Boeing-Northrop Grumman team includes: Alaska Metrology Calibration Services Inc., All Points Logistics Inc.; Davidson Technologies Inc., Delta Industrial Services Inc., DESE Research Inc., Dynetics Inc., Harris Corp. [HRS], Issac Corp., Jeskell Inc., nLogic,, Orbital Sciences Corp. [ORB], Oregon Iron Works, Penta Research Inc. , Raytheon Missile Systems, Trident Group Inc., and Victory Solutions Inc..
Lockheed Martin will be the GMD prime contractor and systems integrator, leading the team’s work at all major GMD sites. Strategic partner Raytheon would provide the GMD Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle, as well as systems engineering, development, modeling and simulation, operations and sustainment, manufacturing, testing and training.
The Lockheed Martin-Raytheon GMD team also includes: Alaska Aerospace Corp., ARES Corp., ATK [ATK], Bechtel National Inc., Bluespring Software, CohesionForce Inc., Dynetics Inc., Harris Corp., Imprimis Inc., IroquoiSystems Inc., Mission Solutions Engineering, NANA Development Corp.’s ASTS-Akima Logistics Services Joint Venture, Northrop Grumman Information Systems as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) provider, Orbital Sciences Corp., Oregon Iron Works Inc., Quadrus Corp., QuantiTech Inc. and TDX Power Inc.