Northrop Grumman to Develop Next-Generation Relay Ground Station for U.S. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific
Press ReleaseApril 19, 2022
BOULDER, Colo. – April 19, 2022 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) was awarded a $99.6 million contract by U.S. Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific to provide mission-critical capabilities for Relay Ground Station - Asia (RGS-A). Northrop Grumman will design, develop, integrate, test, and deliver the first of the next-generation relay ground stations to support legacy and future missile launch and missile warning detection satellites.
“The advanced technologies we bring to this mission build on our proven capabilities to provide existing and future missile warning systems that help keep our nation and its allies safe,” said Aaron Dann, vice president, strategic force programs, Northrop Grumman. “The model-based, open-systems architecture provides the ability to rapidly deploy follow-on RGS systems in future locations around the world.”
The RGS-A award is the first step in addressing the U.S. Space Force's mission to revolutionize existing missile warning and missile defense systems with the Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution (FORGE) system. A key element of the (FORGE) architecture includes relay ground stations that support existing and new satellite constellations, and the capability to handle changes in bandwidth and resiliency.
NIWC Pacific will develop six antennas for RGS-A to enable the Space Systems Command (SSC) Next Generation Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Ground System to operate the legacy satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The antennas will be deployed to the island of Guam, and remotely monitored and operated from the United States.
Most of the work for the five-year contract will take place at Northrop Grumman’s campus in Boulder, CO., where it just opened a 23,680-square-foot office building. It plans to fill 100 positions by the end of 2022, bringing the total number of employees to 500 at the site. Northrop Grumman is a technology company, focused on global security and human discovery.
Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with capabilities they need to connect, advance and protect the U.S. and its allies. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our 90,000 employees define possible every day.
