Northrop scores $866M Air Force radar services takeaway

Northrop Grumman has won a five-year, $866 million contract to help sustain and modify radar sensors the Air Force uses for missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance missions.

The Air Force received three bids for the contract to support that trio of systems, the Defense Department said in its Friday contracts digest.

This is a takeaway win for Northrop as Harris Corp. is the incumbent on the current contract called “Maintenance of Space Situational Awareness Integrated Capabilities” that started in January 2002.

Harris inherited that contract through its acquisition of Exelis three years ago and Deltek data shows the expiration date as Sept. 30, 2019. The contract has a rough $2 billion ceiling with 96 percent of that spent, according to Deltek.

Work under the new “Sustainment and Modification of Radar Sensors” contract supports Ballistic Missile Early Warning Systems, PAVE Phased Array Warning system radars and the Paramater Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization System.

Northrop’s scope of services includes sustainment, modifications, upgrades, technology refreshes, depot-level maintenance and support of the systems to include hardware, software and firmware.