The Next Generation Interceptor team from Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) successfully conducted its All-Up Round (AUR) Preliminary Design Review (PDR) in collaboration with the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) on January 26.

The PDR marked a key milestone in outlining the technical approach for the comprehensive integration of Northrop Grumman’s interceptor design across all subsystems, paving the way for more advanced phases of development. An aspect of this stage is demonstrating the design’s ability to maintain full functionality in challenging environments.

During the review, the Northrop Grumman team presented on-site interactive demonstrators, including a full-scale solid rocket motor, avionics, and other test hardware, for assessment by the MDA. Raytheon, a strategic partner and an RTX business, contributed kill vehicle hardware for environmental testing, sensor hardware, manufacturing fixtures, and test equipment.

Additionally, a full-scale digital model of the AUR design in a virtual reality environment was available for inspection.

“The Northrop Grumman NGI PDR demonstrated our technology, innovation, readiness, and performance. We put actual hardware in the hands of the MDA, backed by a digital representation. Next Generation Interceptor holds global strategic importance, which is why production and manufacturing readiness continues to play a central role in our Next Generation Interceptor solution,” said Lisa Brown, Vice President of the Next Generation Interceptor program at Northrop Grumman.

The Northrop Grumman NGI solution, designed to defend the U.S. homeland from Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) threats within the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, has seen key components tested and built ahead of schedule.

“We are doing everything we can to accelerate our schedule while maintaining the deep technical rigor for which we are known. Northrop Grumman is committed to delivering this crucial capability into the hands of our warfighters as soon as possible, while meeting the key mission requirements,” said Wendy Williams, Vice President and General Manager of Launch and Missile Defense Systems at Northrop Grumman.

The collaborative efforts of Northrop Grumman and Raytheon involve leveraging advanced digital engineering techniques to expedite design maturity phases and achieve operational capability as swiftly as possible.

With the successful completion of the PDR, Northrop Grumman is poised to continue refining its NGI design en route to the Critical Design Review, expected to conclude ahead of schedule. Anticipated deployment of the first operational Next Generation Interceptor is targeted for as early as 2027.

For more information, please visit Northrup Grumman’s website here.