Lockheed Martin was recently awarded a contract by the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to supply the Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) for almost 16 billion euros. The new long-range warhead interceptor missile according to Sarah Hiza, Lockheed Martin Vice President and General Manager of Strategic and Missile Defense, will be part of the so-called “Ground-based Midcourse Defense” (GMD) network and protect the continental USA against intercontinental ballistic missile attacks. intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) attacks by potential adversaries or rogue states. protect it.
The Missile Defense Agency began an NGI competition in 2019 to replace the current but outdated ballistic missile interceptor (36 GBI interceptor missiles in California and Alaska). Lockheed Martin was selected by the MDA in March 2021 to also participate in the development phase of the NGI procurement program. In October 2021, the MDA approved the company’s NGI Requirements Review (SRR) and after several more development steps, Lockheed Martin reached “Knowledge Point-1” – ahead of schedule – last November. This “milestone” of the MDA acquisition demonstrates a significant level of maturity in critical technologies and manufacturing readiness and leads into the product development phase and now – according to Sarah Hiza – the new Interceptor can also be further developed with a view to new threats. Incidentally, this development will take place entirely digitally at the “rocket-historical” site in HuntsvilleAlabama.
According to a recent press release, “Lockheed Martin has a deep understanding of the end-to-end missile defense mission and is committed to a positive and transparent relationship with MDA. For NGI, the company is leveraging investments in kill vehicle technology, battle-tested experience in intercepting exoatmospheric threats and nearly seven decades of experience in providing the nation with strategic missile systems. The company pioneered the development of hit-to-kill intercept technologies that our warfighters and the public rely on today.”
According to MDA, the “critical design review” is now imminent, followed by integration into the GMD weapon system and flight tests. This will be followed by the multi-year production contract, with initial operational capability (IOC) to be achieved by the fourth quarter of the US fiscal year 2028 at the latest. According to Lieutenant General Heath Collins, head of the MDA, the initial plan is to purchase 20 interceptor missiles to intercept exoatmospheric threats. These will initially be stationed at Fort Greely, Alaska, and targeted at the Pacific region with the ICBM states of China, Russia and North Korea.
