Northrop Grumman has reached an agreement with the Air Force to restructure the LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program and has restarted work on the launch facilities, CEO Kathy Warden announced today.
Paused Design Work Resumes
Northrop was directed to pause design work on the command and launch portion of Sentinel last year due to an 81% cost overrun. This suspension has now been lifted, allowing the company to resume launch facility design work.
„Nailing Down” Requirements for Faster Progress
Northrop is working with the Air Force to refine requirements, aiming to move faster and potentially reduce costs from the post-Nunn-McCurdy baseline. This work focuses on the command and launch portion to align it with progress on the missile and support equipment.
Restructuring Agreement to Re-establish Baseline
Warden stated that the new agreement will lead to a re-establishment of the program baseline.
Using Additional Funding to Accelerate Program
Northrop is in discussions with the Air Force to leverage the $2.5 billion in additional funding from the reconciliation bill to accelerate the Sentinel program through risk-reduction activities, potentially improving schedule and cost.
B-21 Raider Production Capacity Expansion
Beyond Sentinel, Northrop is also in talks with the Air Force about using $4.5 billion from the reconciliation bill to increase B-21 Raider production capacity. This expansion would likely require Northrop to invest its own funds.
Fair Business Arrangement Sought for B-21 Production
Northrop aims to establish a „fair and equitable” business arrangement incentivizing investment in production capacity, with opportunities to improve returns on low rate initial production (LRIP) and not-to-exceed (NTE) production lots.
Inflationary Impacts Cause Losses on B-21 Contract
Despite meeting performance and technical milestones for the B-21, Northrop has incurred losses on the fixed-price portion of its current contract due to inflationary impacts.
B-21 Revenue Could Exceed 10 Percent
Warden now believes B-21 revenue could exceed 10 percent for the company, depending on the final agreement for production rate ramp.
Testing Space-Based Missile Interceptors for „Golden Dome”
Northrop is also testing space-based missile interceptors that could be part of a future Golden Dome missile shield, a top defense priority for the Trump administration.
