U.S. MDA Joins Hands with Northrop Grumman in Pioneering Hypersonic Defense Plan

Northrop Grumman in partnership with the US Missile Defense Agency is embarking on the Glide Phase Interceptor program to counter hypersonic missile threats with the use of advanced technologies under the evolutionary path of such technologies.

The collaboration between the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) of the Department of Defense and Northrop Grumman Company is a startup for the Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) project which is intended to disrupt the idea of creating supersonic missile interceptors that are never seen before. Partnership is important for the advancement of custom defensive solutions capable of responding to contemporary and future hypersonic challenges.

In the upcoming developmental stage, the focus of Northrop Grumman will be on refining the basic design of the GPI, which will work alongside the U.S.Navy's Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense destroyers and Aegis Ashore launch sites using the standard Vertical Launch System. The intention is for the company to highlight system performance in hypersonic settings ahead of its Preliminary Design Review and to speed up flight experiments by leveraging its established flight systems.

Wendy Williams, Northrop Grumman's vice president and general manager of launch and missile defense systems, pointed out the critical importance of the GPI, saying, "GPI adds mission-critical standoff to warfighters in environments where distance grants an advantage." Designed according to the needs of a variety of missions, Northrop Grumman’s pioneering solution is ready to navigate through the changing threat environment.

In addition to advanced technologies, the design includes a seeker for tracking threats, a re-ignitable upper stage engine for the containment of threats, and a dual engagement mode for taking on threats at diverse altitudes. In addition to its other efforts, Northrop Grumman will aid the U.S. in its Cooperative Development program alongside Japan’s Ministry of Defense to provide interceptors to the MDA.

Northrop Grumman maintains its role as a leader in aerospace and defense technology by innovating new approaches, ensuring that customers have important capabilities to link and defend the world.