Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system to be created by Northrop Grumman

The GMD is the US anti-ballistic missile system for interrupting inbound warheads in the skies along the mid-course period or about midway between launch and impact.

By Matt Pepple, SJ Correspondent
August 08, 2022 01:00 pm UTC
Modified: August 08, 2022 01:00 pm

ALABAMA – US ARMED FORCES long-range missile support specialists have selected Northrop Grumman Corporation to attend to the next Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Weapons system process to shield the Continental US from nuclear long-range missile assaults.

Officials of the US Missile Defense Agency in Alabama issued a possible $3.3 Billion five-year contract on Friday to the Northrop Grumman Mission Systems portion in Huntsville, Alabama to plot the following GMD weapon system order.

The GMD is the US anti-ballistic missile system for interrupting inbound warheads in the skies along the mid-course period or about midway between launch and impact. The GMD is operated out of Greely, Alabama, and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, as cited by Military Aerospace.

Northrop Grumman will deal with defense entity creation, engineering, evolution, combination, evaluation, and plotting of hardware and software amid growing threats.

The GMD defense strategy formulates structured battle plans focused on sensor data and includes the following: A GMD fire-control system that allows for threat assessment and skirmish planning, the GMD transmission network that connects GMD to outer sensors and systems, the GMD launch control which is the pre-launch configuration between the GMD fire control and interceptor, and the GMD in-flight interceptor connection entity that connects the GMD fire control and the interceptor to update the rocket during flight according to Military Aerospace.

It is believed that this Ground-Based Mid-course system will also utilize the Interceptor which is comprised of a boost vehicle, and an Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle. It is classified as a three-stage Orbital Boost Vehicle (OBV) and implements solid fuel rocket upper stages of the “Taurus” launcher. The interceptor edition used in the US has three phases. A two-stage rendition was favorably tested in 2080 for utilization in Europe's NATO missile defense as a supplementary alternative to the chosen Aegis System Standard Missile 3, according to Wikipedia.

Northrop Grumman will work out an “open and modular GMD weapon system architecture” that includes radar, space sensors, missile interceptor weaponry, and a command and control system, cited by Military Aerospace.

Last year the Missile Defense Agency selected crews guided by Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin Corporation to begin preparing the GMD Weapon system to transport the project into the applied-science development and danger-lowering chapter.

With this agreement; Northrop Grumman will do the job in Huntsville, Alabama, and is slated to be completed in July of 2027.