View Full Version : Northrop Grumman wins next generation ICBM
chopper2004
9th Sep 2020, 09:51
40/50 year old Minuteman III ICBMs going to be replaced as Northrop-Grumman has contract to design and build next generation of ICBMs to replace the 400 odd scattered across three states in silos.
https://www.airforcemag.com/northrop-wins-13-3b-contract-to-build-new-icbms/
cheers
Northrop definitely seems on the way up and Boeing on the way down of late.
Asturias56
9th Sep 2020, 17:53
Welllll - the US armed forces are as interested as anyone else in not having a sole supplier - Boeing get a good run you can bet LM or Northrop will get the next big contract
TTBH they have much the same capabilities and so it's just a matter of adjusting the spec to slightly favour one or other of the deserving - Boeing refused to bid as they reckoned it was going to Northrop anyway
Martin the Martian
9th Sep 2020, 21:28
Was it Northrop Grumman's turn?
Fonsini
10th Sep 2020, 10:10
I wonder if we will have the same go-around regarding the vulnerability of silo basing that we saw during development of the otherwise excellent (but very pricey) LGM-118A. Just my 2 cents but the money would be better spent on the Columbia class project, and Northrop is already getting more than enough moolah from the Air Force for the B-21, it’s time to give up the silo launched missiles and move on.
etudiant
10th Sep 2020, 12:10
Welllll - the US armed forces are as interested as anyone else in not having a sole supplier - Boeing get a good run you can bet LM or Northrop will get the next big contract
TTBH they have much the same capabilities and so it's just a matter of adjusting the spec to slightly favour one or other of the deserving - Boeing refused to bid as they reckoned it was going to Northrop anyway
Afaik they both used Aerojet as their rocket motor supplier, so when Northrop bought Aerojet, Boeing wanted to redo their proposal but the USAF refused to delay the competition.
The sad thing is that the Space-X example shows that the corporate overhead at least triples the cost of US aerospace products. Continuing such monopoly procurements is demonstrably the best way to minimize military purchasing power.