SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Air Force has awarded a contract worth nearly $99 million for replacement guidance systems for its nuclear missile fleet.
The contract announced Thursday by Northrop Grumman will complete the full-rate production phase of the ICBM Guidance Replacement Program aimed at maintaining the combat readiness of the Minuteman III missile.
"The ICBM modernization effort continues to meet commitments and is delivering to the Air Force a strong, safe, and viable land-based strategic deterrent," promised John Clay, vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman ICBM Prime Integration Contract.
The Guidance Replacement Program (GRP) is a nine-year, $1.5 billion effort by the Air Force and Northrop that should be wrapped up in early 2009. The latest contract, which was formally issued last month by the 526th ICBM Systems Wing in Utah, will upgrade the missiles' guidance electronics and extend service life through 2020.
The United States has been updating virtually every segment of the Minuteman III, which remains the haymaker of the U.S. nuclear deterrence arsenal. Northrop has been working on the propulsion system and the re-entry vehicles.
Last fall, the Air Foirce deployed the first Minuteman III retrofitted with the Mk 21 atomic warhead under the SERV (Safety-Enhanced Re-entry Vehicle) program, which retrofits the Minuteman with the Mk 21 from the old Peacekeeper missile fleet.
