Northrop, Boeing submit MDA proposal

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HUNTSVILLE, Ala., March 14 (UPI) -- Northrop Grumman and Boeing have submitted a joint proposal to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency in a bid for a modeling and simulation architecture contract.

The MDA contract, for its Objective Simulation Framework program, is expected to be awarded this summer. It will be an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with an estimated program value of $595 million over five years.

"Missile defense calls for flexible, high-fidelity simulations that are affordable," Kelley Zelickson, vice president of Air and Missile Defense Systems for Northrop Grumman Information Systems, said. "OSF is crucial for increasing the cost-effective role of modeling and simulation in verifying and certifying BMDS performance.

"The Northrop Grumman-Boeing team is committed to working with the MDA to achieve an optimized, common framework that will reduce the costs associated with modeling and simulation while enhancing the ability to evaluate new ballistic missile defense capabilities."

Among other companies on the Northrop Grumman-Boeing team are: ARES Corp., Burlingame, Calif.; Boecore Inc., Colorado Springs; Davidson Technologies Inc., Huntsville, Ala.; and Raytheon of Colorado Springs.

Northrop Grumman and Boeing are the principal developers of the MDA's current modeling and simulation frameworks, consisting of the Digital Simulation Architecture and the Single Stimulation Framework. The OSF program will enhance and integrate these current frameworks into a system that accurately represents the performance of fielded BMDS equipment against a variety of threats in realistic environments.