The Missile Defense Agency has selected Northrop Grumman as the single contractor to deliver services for the the Glide Phase Interceptor, or GPI, program, DefenseScoop reported Wednesday.
The GPI program is an initiative that aims to produce an advanced missile that can meet, counter and dispense with adversarial hypersonic weapons that can reach speeds of Mach 5 or greater. The system will look to intercept and defeat incoming hypersonics while traveling through the perimeters of the Earth’s atmosphere—the glide phase.
Lt. Gen. Heath Collins, MDA director and a 2024 Wash100 awardee, said, “Today’s decision represents a turning point for hypersonic glide phase defense.”
The MDA is developing the program alongside Japan’s Ministry of Defense and expects Northrop Grumman’s selection to result in follow-on development and production.
“I’m very proud of the entire team including our industry partners, for all the hard work to get to this point. It is also an honor to have Japan as our partner as we move forward on this critical counter-hypersonic capability,” Collins added.
Northrop Grumman’s GPI design reportedly features an advanced seeker for threat tracking and hit-to-kill accuracy, a re-ignitable upper-stage engine for threat containment and a dual engagement mode to deal with threats across a wide range of altitudes, the company said in a release. Northrop Grumman beat out RTX for the continued development of the GPI.
Wendy Williams, Northrop Grumman’s vice president and manager of launch and missile defense systems, said the GPI provides “mission critical” capabilities in warfighting situations where distance creates strategic opportunities.
“Tailorable to a multitude of mission requirements, Northrop Grumman’s revolutionary solution is designed to perform in the evolving threat landscape,” Williams stated.
MDA requested $182 million for GPI in its fiscal 2025 budget and plans for the missiles to reach initial operational functionality by the end of 2029 and full operational capacity by the 2030s.