Northrop says well-positioned for missile pact bid
Reuters.com
By Andrea Shalal-Esa
March 23, 2010
Northrop Grumman Corp said on Tuesday it has collected “strong” award fees for its work on two key missile defense programs, and feels it is well-positioned to bid for a $6 billion contract to manage the core U.S. missile defense system.
John Clay, vice president for missile systems, told reporters that Northrop has had an excellent track record managing the nation’s arsenal of 450 Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missiles, and has been a key player on many other missile defense programs.
He said the company also has had experience working on performance-based logistic contracts for other military services, which means it understands the Missile Defense Agency’s priorities and goals for the new contract.
Missile Defense Agency Director Army Lieutenant General Patrick O’Reilly on Monday said he was withholding funding from current missile defense programs due to quality issues, and called on industry to fire people when problems arose. …
Northrop officials said the company is also exploring other possible missile defense work, including bidding to build hundreds of millions of dollar of targets and countermeasures, adapting the company’s high-altitude unmanned Global Hawk plane to monitor enemy missile launches, and building follow-on satellites for tracking.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2323379820100323?type=marketsNews
