Northrop Grumman and Ball Aerospace Achieve Design Review for Missile Warning Payload

Northrop Grumman and Ball Aerospace successfully passed a critical design review on August 5, 2023, for a missile warning payload destined for the Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next Gen OPIR) satellites. The payload will be integrated into the first two satellites of the constellation, with the first launch anticipated in 2025.

Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor, responsible for three geostationary satellites and has awarded contracts to both Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Technologies for competing payload designs. The Space Force allocated $2.4 billion to Northrop Grumman for the design of polar satellites and previously awarded $2.9 billion to Lockheed Martin for satellite design and $4.9 billion for manufacturing. The next block of satellites may be deployed in medium Earth orbit, with contracts recently issued to Raytheon Technologies and Millennium Space Systems to advance their designs.