Northrop Grumman is officially the only company to bid on the potentially $25 billion contract to build and deploy the U.S. Air Force’s Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The company confirmed Friday, at the deadline to submit bids, that it put in an offer with the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center. Boeing, the only other company eligible to bid, confirmed that it did not.
Boeing dropped out of the competition in July, claiming Northrop Grumman has an insurmountable price advantage because the company owns its own solid rocket business: the former Orbital ATK. Solid rockets will be crucial to the GBSD.
The GBSD is slated to replace 400 Boeing-built Minuteman III missiles beginning in 2030 as the land-based leg of the U.S. nuclear triad. Boeing could still protest either the competition or the award, which is expected next summer.
The new missiles are slated to use W87-1 warheads provided by the National Nuclear Security Administration, with Mk21A re-entry vehicles. Lockheed Martin is developing technology to use the Mk21A with W87-1 and GBSD.
