SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. Air Force awarded a contract to continue the life-extension work on the engines of its fleet of nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Northrop Grumman announced Friday it had recently received the $15 million contract that will cover 22 months of full-rate production of the Propulsion System Rocket Engine (PRSE) life-extension program.
Northrop and its sub-contractor, Aerojet, have been providing refurbishment kits that U.S. government technicians at Hill Air Force Base in Utah have been using to replace aging hardware and ordnance on the fourth stage of the Minuteman III missile.
"The Northrop Grumman team, comprised of Aerojet and our government partners, has successfully completed the low-rate initial production program and have transitioned seamlessly into full-rate production," said Northrop Vice President John Clay. "We are poised to deliver annually on this effort as part of our overarching role to support the Air Force in keeping the Minuteman III a viable deterrent."
The Minuteman III was fielded in the late 1960s. The United States has about 500 of the missiles in its arsenal. The weapons consist of three solid-fuel booster stages and the "fourth stage" PRSE that carries out the final maneuvering of the re-entry vehicle that carries the deadly Mk 12 warhead.
The contract announced Friday is the second of six full-rate options under the 13-year PSRE life-extension program. Northrop said it expected the Air Force to exercise all of the options, which would boost the overall value of the program, which began in 2000, to $155 million.
