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Northrop Grumman has secured more than $4.8 billion in new U.S. defense contracts focused on expanding missile interceptor production and continuing long-term support for the U.S. Air Force’s LITENING advanced targeting pod program.

The U.S. Air Force awarded a ceiling contract worth up to $1.84 billion for the production, sustainment, and modernization of the AN/AAQ-28 LITENING targeting pod through December 2035.

The U.S. Department of War contracts include two multi-year framework agreements totaling more than $3 billion to accelerate production of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile components.

The United States is expanding its defense manufacturing capacity to meet growing domestic and allied demand for precision-guided weapons, missile interceptors, and advanced targeting systems.

LITENING Targeting Pod Support

Under the Air Force contract, Northrop Grumman will continue manufacturing, maintaining, and upgrading the AN/AAQ-28 LITENING advanced targeting pod, one of the military’s primary precision targeting systems.

The indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract has a maximum value of $1.84 billion, allowing the Air Force to place task orders for new production, upgrades, and sustainment services through December 31, 2035.

Work will be carried out at the company’s facility in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, under the oversight of the Air Force’s Precision Attack Contracting Branch at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia.

The Air Force did not disclose how many pods will be produced or upgraded. Individual orders and funding will be issued throughout the life of the contract. The award follows a previous $1.3 billion agreement signed in 2019 that supported the LITENING program through 2023.

Precision Targeting Capability

Originally developed by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and manufactured and supported in the United States by Northrop Grumman, the LITENING pod provides aircraft with advanced electro-optical and infrared sensors, high-definition imaging, laser target designation, and long-range target tracking.

The modular system enables aircrews to detect, identify, and engage targets accurately during day or night operations and in adverse weather conditions, while maintaining a safe distance.

The targeting pod is used across a wide range of U.S. military aircraft, including the A-10 Thunderbolt II, B-52 Stratofortress, C-130 Hercules, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Super Hornet, AV-8B Harrier II, and MQ-9 Reaper.

According to Northrop Grumman, the company has delivered more than 1,000 LITENING pods to U.S. forces and allied nations. The fleet has accumulated more than 4 million flight hours while maintaining operational availability of up to 97 percent.

The latest contract ensures the Air Force will continue to operate and modernize the targeting system well into the mid-2030s, rather than replacing it with an entirely new platform.

Missile Interceptor Production Expands

Separately, Northrop Grumman announced two framework agreements worth more than $3 billion with the U.S. Department of War and Lockheed Martin to significantly increase production of critical missile defense components.

The largest agreement, valued at $2 billion, focuses on accelerating production of solid rocket motors and ignition safety devices for the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) interceptor.

PAC-3 MSE is the latest version of the Patriot interceptor missile and is designed to defeat tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and advanced aircraft.

The missile features a more powerful dual-pulse solid rocket motor, larger control fins, and improved maneuverability, enabling it to intercept faster and more complex threats at greater ranges than earlier Patriot variants.

PAC-3 MSE forms a key component of U.S. and allied integrated air and missile defense systems and has seen growing international demand in recent years.

A second framework agreement worth $1 billion will allow the company to substantially increase production of structural components for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system over the next seven years.

Northrop has supplied THAAD components since 2002, including interceptor shell cores, aft bulkheads, and heat shield assemblies designed to withstand the extreme temperatures generated during high-speed intercept missions.

The agreements support a broad expansion of Northrop Grumman’s production network across several U.S. facilities.

Since 2021, the company has doubled solid rocket motor production capacity at its Utah facilities, nearly tripled capacity at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in West Virginia, and increased production by 25 percent at its Elkton, Maryland, facility.

The Allegany Ballistics Laboratory is expected to triple production capability by 2027, supporting U.S. Army plans to increase annual PAC-3 MSE missile production from roughly 600 missiles per year today to several thousand in the coming years for U.S. and allied forces.

Since 2019, Northrop Grumman has invested more than $2 billion in munitions-related technologies and manufacturing infrastructure, including over $1 billion dedicated to solid rocket motor production.

The company has produced more than 1.3 million solid rocket motors during its more than 70 years of propulsion manufacturing experience.

Supporting Integrated Air and Missile Defense

Northrop Grumman said the combined agreements will strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base by expanding production capacity while ensuring long-term support for precision targeting systems and missile interceptors.

Corporate Vice President at Northrop Grumman, Ben Davies said, “Our long-term investments in breakthrough manufacturing technologies and resilient supply chains let us pivot from steady production to a production surge in record time.”

Davies highlighted, “As one of America’s leading producers of solid rocket motors, we’re supporting the administration’s push to accelerate munitions output. It’s a mission-critical leap forward that ensures America’s defense edge stays sharper, faster, and farther ahead of global threats.”

Together, the contracts reinforce ongoing U.S. efforts to increase the production of advanced weapons systems, improve supply chain resilience, and expand missile defense capabilities amid rising global demand from both American and allied armed forces.