Boeing and industry partner Northrop Grumman have submitted their joint proposal for the competitive development and sustainment contract for future work on the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) element of the United States' ballistic missile defense system.

"This development and sustainment contract proposal is backed by the full commitment of Boeing, Northrop Grumman and all of our team members," said Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO, Boeing Defense, Space and Security.

"We have been privileged to have been partners with the Missile Defense Agency through the development and deployment of the GMD system, and now with Northrop Grumman, we will bring to GMD over 50 years of experience in sustaining and modernizing the Minuteman ICBM weapon system. We look forward to continuing that partnership in this next phase of the GMD program."

The Boeing-Northrop Grumman GMD proposal submitted to the Missile Defense Agency brings together a broad industry group, selected for extensive heritage GMD capability and relevant expertise, to deliver the best offering for the future of the program. The team has worked for the past year to prepare the expansive proposal, which includes an overview of past performance and outlines future program support.

"With over half a century of experience and success on the nation's ICBM system, Northrop Grumman continues to demonstrate its unmatched capabilities in developing, managing and integrating the complex and mission-critical systems that defend our country and its allies," said Wes Bush, president and CEO, Northrop Grumman.

"Our partnership with Boeing on this GMD proposal brings together the very best minds in the industry to help the nation improve its defenses against a threat that affords no margin for error."

Boeing will lead the industry team in the development, deployment, integration and testing of the GMD weapon system, building on its experience of supporting the Missile Defense Agency as prime contractor for the GMD program since 2001.

Following a presidential directive in 2002, Boeing led a team of more than 300 suppliers and delivered a limited operational GMD capability in just two and a half years. The Boeing-led team currently operates and sustains the deployed weapon system while actively developing and testing innovative technologies to provide increased reliability and meet evolving customer needs and requirements.

"GMD remains the nation's only defense against long-range ballistic missile threats and as we look to GMD's future, our proposal is focused on supporting the program's current capability while offering innovative solutions for future program evolution at the lowest cost to the customer," said Norm Tew, Boeing vice president and program director of GMD.

"Only the Boeing-Northrop Grumman team has the unmatched GMD experience to bring the best value to the customer, without sacrificing operational readiness and future performance capabilities. This knowledge base enables us to offer the U.S. government substantial cost savings with minimal risk."

Northrop Grumman has been part of the Boeing Ground-based Midcourse Defense team since 1998, responsible for designing and deploying the command-and-control systems that form the backbone of the ground system. As Boeing's strategic partner for GMD's future work, Northrop Grumman offers more than 50 years of experience in the development and sustainment of the ICBM system.

An integral element of the Global Ballistic Missile Defense System, GMD uses radars, other sensors, command-and-control facilities, communications terminals and a 20,000-mile fiber optic communications network. There are more than 20 operational interceptors at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., and at Fort Greely, Alaska, to defend the United States against long-range ballistic missile threats.