David J. Barton
Northrop Grumman Corp. has been awarded a $39.7 million contract by the U.S. Air Force to design, develop, qualify and test a replacement payload transporter system for the country’s intercontinental ballistic missile weapon system.
The contract has a four-year period.
“Northrop Grumman has worked in close coordination with the Air Force for more than five decades to ensure the safety, security and reliability of our nation’s ICBM weapon system,” said Tony Spehar, vice president and program manager of Northrop Grumman’s ICBM systems business unit.
According to a Northrop statement, the program is expected to provide a replacement for the current payload transporter that is at the end of its design life.
“The replacement transporter will provide immediate improvement in security as well as prevent possible supportability impacts from the current aging system in place,” said Mark Bishop, program manager for Northrop Grumman’s payload transporter replacement program.
