The House Armed Services Committee wants the Air Force to review its approach to the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program, to include identifying potential steps for reducing costs and introducing more opportunities for competition in the operation and maintenance phase.
The panel’s draft version of the next National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) notes the effort to develop a new silo-based, intercontinental ballistic missile is expected to total $100 billion and calls on the Secretary of the Air Force to provide recommendations on potential improvements to the engineering and manufacturing development contract with Northrop Grumman.
The draft House NDAA, if signed into law, would direct the Air Force to provide a report reviewing the schedule, cost and executing of the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program, opportunities to leverage increased competition during the operations and maintenance phase, and the service’s ability to leverage digital engineering to help bring down costs.
The directive would also require the Air Force secretary to appoint at least two experts outside of the defense industry to contribute to the GBSD review.
Despite the report directive, the version of the NDAA up for debate starting Wednesday includes the Joe Biden administration’s requested funding for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), which will begin deploying around 2030. Early GBSD missiles will use W87-0 warheads adapted from the current Minuteman III silo-based fleet, later models will get W87-1 warheads: new copies of the W87-0, but with freshly cast plutonium pits.
In ordering the report, the Armed Services Committee mentioned recent remarks from Air Force Gen. John Hyten, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who said that GBSD must be “more affordable” and that “after meeting with the program office at Northrop Grumman multiple times I think that program can come in significantly cheaper.”
Hyten rose through the ranks as a procurement officer.
Northrop Grumman is set to build GBSD under a $13 billion contract awarded in 2019, which will ultimately serve as the replacement for the Boeing-made Minuteman IIIs. Northrop and other Boeing competitors worked on Minuteman III maintenance programs and Boeing, after getting shut out of the GBSD prime contract, may be eager to find a role on the project after the engineering and manufacturing development phase.
A version of this story first appeared in Weapons Complex Morning Briefing affiliate publication, Defense Daily.
