Article Posted on : - Oct 14, 2010

A file photo of Ground-Based Interceptor launch. Photo: Boeing.

HUNTSVILLE (BNS): Boeing and Northrop Grumman have made a comprehensive team, to jointly pursue the competitive development and sustainment contract for future work on the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system for the US Missile Defense Agency.

"Boeing is proud to have partnered with the Missile Defense Agency as prime contractor of GMD for more than a decade, working with more than 170 companies to make GMD an operational reality," Greg Hyslop, vice president and general manager, Boeing Strategic Missile & Defense Systems, said in a company statement.

According to the release, the GMD development and sustainment contract team is the best team possible for the critical national security capability and will have a lowest cost through the competitive procurement process.

"Northrop Grumman is excited about the opportunity provided by the GMD competition to expand our relationship with Boeing from GMD teammate to strategic partner, as well as the opportunity to continue leveraging the contributions of our large and small business teammates in the development, deployment and support of this critical capability to protect the United States against attack by ballistic missiles," Karen Williams, vice president of Air and Missile Defense Systems for Northrop Grumman's Information Systems sector, said.

The Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) System is the first and only operationally deployed missile defence programme to defend the homeland against long-range ballistic missile attacks.

The system provides early detection and tracking during the boost phase, midcourse target discrimination, precision intercept and destruction of inbound ICBMs through force of hit-to-kill technology.