Northrop Grumman Plays Key Role in Successful Missile Defense Intercept Test

Northrop Grumman, HUNTSVILLE: Northrop Grumman Corporation's fire control and launch control equipment software, developed for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) ground-based midcourse defense (GMD) system, successfully performed today during MDA's Flight Test 2, where the interceptor successfully tracked and subsequently destroyed the target warhead over the Pacific Ocean. These software systems play a pivotal role in launching the system's ground-based interceptor and orchestrating the overall engagement sequence. 
 
Northrop Grumman's Mission Systems sector is responsible for designing and deploying key components of the GMD system, including the GMD Fire Control (GFC), In-flight Interceptor Communications System Data Terminal (IDT), Communications Network Equipment (CNE), Network System Manager (NSM), and Command Launch Equipment (CLE) software, all under contract to The Boeing Company. 
 
The test involved launching a ground-based interceptor from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) against a target missile launched from Kodiak Launch Complex, Alaska. While the primary objectives of the test were to demonstrate and evaluate the interceptor launch and to characterize the end-game performance of the exoatmospheric kill vehicle as it approached the target, the interceptor intercepted the target. Successfully exercising the fire control and launch operations procedures was critical to the test's success.