Air Force picks ARA to build Next Generation Penetrator

Defense firm Applied Research Associates will design and build a prototype for the Air Force's Next Generation Penetrator bomb, the company and the service announced over the weekend.

The new contract -- which spans 24 months and includes the production and test of sub-scale and full-scale prototype munitions -- was awarded by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Eglin Munitions Directorate.

ARA will serve as the lead designer for the development of a bunker-buster, air-to-ground munition prototype, while Boeing will build the NGP’s tail kit.

“This effort will evaluate capabilities against hard and deeply buried targets that pose critical challenges to U.S. national security,” ARA wrote in its news release. “Leveraging decades of experience in guided and penetrating munitions, ARA will lead design maturation, while Boeing will drive tail kit development and support all-up-round integration.”

Boeing is the manufacturer of the Air Force’s other munition intended to destroy hard-to-hit and deeply buried targets, called the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator. That weapon was used for the first time in June to strike Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities.

NGP is a follow-on, secretive program the Air Force introduced in fiscal year 2025 to develop an advanced munition weighing no more than 22,000 lbs. able to be carried by various aircraft.

The project potentially includes the addition of advanced fuze technology to the penetrating weapon system to better ensure it can reach a precise aim point even when other satellite navigation systems go offline, the service wrote in its FY-25 budget request documents.

The service has also floated the idea of adding a rocket motor to the next bunker-buster iteration to increase its standoff capability. The MOP, in contrast, is unpowered, meaning it needs to be released close to the target.

In FY-26, the service is requesting $73.7 million for NGP research, development, test and evaluation to “execute varied validation activities to include: modeling and simulation, test and evaluation, ground test support for sub-scale sled testing and full-scale static testing.”

ARA will likely be required to deliver about “10 subscale and 3-5 full-scale warheads 18-24 months from contract award,” according to a February 2024 request for information.

Prototype demonstration for the NGP program is planned to be complete by the end of FY-27, per Air Force budget documents.