Daily Newsletter

26 September 2023

Daily Newsletter

26 September 2023

Northrop Grumman secures $705m deal to develop new air-to-ground missile

The US Air Force taps Northrop Grumman for stand-in attack weapon development.

Harry McNeil September 26 2023

US defence prime Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $705m contract by the US Air Force to develop the Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW), a high-speed air-to-ground weapon that could equip current fifth- and future sixth-generation combat aircraft.

The SiAW project is a significant milestone, aligning with the USAF vision for a digital weapons acquisition and development programme. Over the next 36 months, Northrop Grumman will work to refine the SiAW, integrate it into various platforms, and undertake a flight test programme for rapid prototyping.

The company will develop at its Northridge, California facility and the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in West Virginia.

According to GlobalData's "The Global Missiles & Missile Defense Systems Market 2023-2033" report, the third leading supplier in the North American region will be Northrop Grumman, which is set to hold a 19.7% share over 2023–33.

Susan Bruce, vice president of advanced weapons at Northrop Grumman, highlighted the SiAW's significance, stating: "Northrop Grumman's SiAW delivers on the [US] Air Force's desire for its first digital weapons acquisition and development programme. With our expert digital engineering capabilities, this next-generation missile represents an adaptable, affordable way for the Department of Defense to buy and modernise weapons."

The air-to-ground SiAW is designed to tackle relocatable targets within enemy anti-access/area denial environments, and will be developed with open architecture to enable spiral upgrades in the future.

The SiAW project's Phase 2 development is a step forward in the programme, focussed on digital engineering, weapon open system architecture, and agility. The US Air Force is working toward achieving an initial operational capability by 2026. 

Phase 2 comprises two primary increments: Phase 2.1 concludes with a guided vehicle flight test, while Phase 2.2 includes three additional flight tests and the delivery of SiAW leave-behind prototype missiles and test assets.

In June 2022, Airforce Technology reported that the missile design presented by Northrop Grumman for evaluation fulfilled the requirements for the Stand-in Attack weapon development and other USAF programmes. 

5G in Defense - Impact Analysis

Current 5G networking technologies provide increased data transmission speed and capacity, a factor which will be critical in enabling the digital transformation of the modern battlefield envisioned by military strategists worldwide. By combining 5G with other emerging technologies such as AI, VR, and defense cloud networking, armed forces have the potential to revolutionize real-time command and control (C2) on the battlefields of the 21st century.

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