The Air Force recently awarded Northrop Grumman [NOC] a $108 million contract to develop and implement cryptography upgrades as part of the ICBM Cryptography Upgrade II engineering and development program.
Northrop Grumman spokesman Bryce McDevitt said in an e-mail the contract is only for the design, testing and qualification effort and that the production and deployment phases of the program will be separate Air Force initiatives. McDevitt added Northrop Grumman will be responsible for providing a qualified cryptography drawer upgrade design and associated software for this contract.
Air Force Global Strike Command spokeswoman Michele Tasista said in an email the cryptography upgrade adds an additional layer of security to all communications between a launch control center and launch facility. Tasista said although the ICBM Cryptography Upgrade II is largely a software upgrade, it will require minor hardware modifications at all 450 launch facilities in addition to software modifications.
Tasista said the Air Force envisions the production phase of ICBM Cryptography Upgrade II to be in the 2015-16 timeframe.
The Northrop Grumman-led ICBM prime team is responsible for overall sustainment of the weapon system, including development, production, deployment and system modifications, the company said in a statement. McDevitt said subcontractors are Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Boeing [BA].
“This contract completes a major security improvement for the weapon system and provides the Air Force with much improved capabilities,” Tony Spehar, vice president and program manager of Northrop Grumman’s ICBM systems business unit, said in a statement. “Northrop Grumman has a proven history of integration and development that will continue to enhance the competencies of our nation’s missile systems.”