Northrop Grumman Continues Ground Support for Minuteman III ICBMs

July 13, 2021

The Minuteman III is a three-stage ICBM which provides the U.S. Air Force with long range protection capabilities.

The Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) will continue to support the U.S. Air Force and joint forces thanks to a recent contract from the Air Force to Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract continues Northrop Grumman as the ground subsystems support contractor (GSSC) for the ICBM system. It provides for sustaining engineering, maintenance engineering, and test and measurement for work on the system through July 2039. The contract has a five-year base value of $306 million and a cumulative value of $3.8 billion over its 18-year lifetime. The work will be performed at Hill Air Force Base, UT, Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA, and other locations throughout the midwestern U.S. The U.S. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at Hill Air Force Base is the contracting organization.

The Minuteman III (see the figure) is a solid-fuel, three-stage ICBM for which Northrop Grumman has served as a prime contractor since 2015. The contract funds advances in electronic technologies that will improve range and accuracy, including digital and mmWave circuits and subsystems. Strategic deterrent systems division sector vice-president and general manager Greg Manuel of Northrop Grumman said: “Northrop Grumman brings proven performance, a highly skilled team of experts, and a continued commitment to ensuring Minuteman III operational readiness for the U.S. Air Force. Our team is using the latest in digital engineering and innovation to keep today’s system reliable, safe, and secure while positioning the USAF for a smooth transition to the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) system over the next couple of decades.”

About the Author

Jack Browne | Technical Contributor

Jack Browne, Technical Contributor, has worked in technical publishing for over 30 years. He managed the content and production of three technical journals while at the American Institute of Physics, including Medical Physics and the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. He has been a Publisher and Editor for Penton Media, started the firm’s Wireless Symposium & Exhibition trade show in 1993, and currently serves as Technical Contributor for that company's Microwaves & RF magazine. Browne, who holds a BS in Mathematics from City College of New York and BA degrees in English and Philosophy from Fordham University, is a member of the IEEE.