Staged tests are not going to convince Congress to invest billions in a program that must work if it is every really needed.
Staged tests are not going to convince Congress to invest billions in a program that must work if it is every really needed. |
The MDA will name one prime systems management and integration contractor to consolidate the acquisition and presentation of ballistic missile targets and countermeasures efforts within the Department of Defense. The MDA's Targets and Countermeasures (MDA TC) Office proposals were due Aug. 13, 2003. Contract award is expected in the fourth quarter of this year.
"As MDA moves out on deploying a missile defense system, it is essential that threat realistic targets be provided to effectively test the BMDS system elements," said Dr. Donald C. Winter, Northrop Grumman's lead executive for missile defense, corporate vice president, and president of Northrop Grumman Mission Systems sector.
"As a strong prime integrator on programs such as the ICBM program, Space Tracking and Surveillance System, and Liquid Booster, Northrop Grumman can pull together this diverse effort and keep costs down so that MDA can execute an effective targets program."
"The Northrop Grumman team not only possesses the technical edge needed, but is the only competitor to boast 50 years' experience in the area of targets and countermeasures, a quality extremely important to MDA as the ballistic missile defense system elements continue to be challenged by increasingly complex threats," said Jerry Agee, vice president, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, Missile Defense Division. "Our experience and one-of-a-kind historical databases will be invaluable to move this program forward."
The selected team will be responsible for system level management, working under shared systems responsibility with MDA TC. This targets enterprise will work in concert with other MDA offices and each of the elements to meet testing requirements.
The prime will be responsible for meeting the MDA objectives of reducing cycle time, managing assets and containing costs while acquiring and presenting targets and countermeasures that meet threat capabilities to be emulated in each test. Responsibilities will also include the design and development of new targets and countermeasures over the life of the contract.
"Northrop Grumman's focus on missile defense will assure that the best people and resources are assigned to the task," said Frank Moore, vice president, Northrop Grumman's Targets and Countermeasures program.
"Our team has been working together since last year. We have created a product line approach that is driven by a strategic view of threats to reduce the cycle time and contain the cost of targets."
Northrop Grumman's Role in Missile Defense
From detection, to tracking, to engagement, Northrop Grumman is bringing its entire suite of expertise in systems integration, high-tech weaponry, and domain knowledge to bear on the challenge of a layered missile defense capability.
The full spectrum of programs includes prime contractor roles for the Defense Support Program satellite; the Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS); the Joint National Integration Center, the Joint Tactical Ground Station, and the Liquid Booster target program. Northrop Grumman is also leading teams pursuing MDA's Kinetic Energy Interceptors program and the Targets and Countermeasures prime program, and playing a leading role developing and upgrading the Aegis platform.
Key roles on the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program include the GMD Fire Control/Communications System, the Command Launch Equipment Command and Control system, the canister package for the Ground-based Interceptor, and support for the launch of target vehicles from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
As a leader in chemical lasers, Northrop Grumman is developing the high-power chemical laser component of the MDA's Airborne Laser program and has designed and built the Tactical High Energy Laser for the U.S. Army and the Israel Ministry of Defence. Northrop Grumman also provides payloads and mission processing for SBIRS-High and STSS, support services and active/passive sensor technology directly to MDA.
Northrop Grumman Mission Systems sector is leading a team that includes Applied Research and Engineering Sciences Corp, Burlingame, Calif.; Battelle, Columbus, Ohio; Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Va.; Coleman Aerospace Corporation, Orlando, Fla.; Final Analysis Communications Services, Inc., Lanham, Md.; Fiore Industries, Albuquerque, N.M.; Honeywell Aerospace Electronic Systems, Clearwater, Fla.; ITT Industries, Colorado Springs, Colo.; L'Garde, Inc., Tustin, Calif.; Millennium Space Systems, Costa Mesa, Calif.; Miltec Corporation, Huntsville, Ala.; Orbital Sciences Corporation, Chandler, Ariz.; Schafer Corp., Huntsville, Ala.; SpecPro Inc, Huntsville, Ala.; Signature Research Corporation, Huntsville, Ala.; Systems and Processes Engineering Corp., Austin, Texas; Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc., Huntsville, Ala.; and Toyon Research, Goleta, Calif. Additional companies are expected to join the Northrop Grumman team for executing this important MDA program.
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