GMD Contract Pushed Back

The Missile Defense Agency just announced it would take a little bit longer to decide the winner of a multiyear, multimillion-dollar contract to develop and maintain the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system. According to an MDA statement:

The pending Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) development and sustainment contract undergoing proposal evaluation is now planned for award late this fall. Boeing and Lockheed Martin have each submitted proposals to compete for the contract award. The award amount will be proposed by the companies in their respective proposals. The Source Selection Authority has determined that it is in the best interest of the government to ensure rigorous and comprehensive proposals by industry, and evaluation by the government, by extending the anticipated award date into November of this year.

An MDA spokesman told Inside Missile Defense that contract execution will still begin in fiscal year 2012.

Boeing has been operating under a series of six-month "bridge" contracts as the main contractor for the GMD program, with MDA never having signed the company to a final deal to complete the system's core elements.

A Lockheed Martin and Raytheon team is competing against a Boeing and Northrop Grumman team for the contract, which has a potential annual value of $600 million.