U.S. Invests $508M in Long-Range Ballistic Missile Targets to Test Homeland Defenses Through 2035

The US Missile Defense Agency awarded Northrop Grumman a $508.49 million follow-on contract for intermediate- and intercontinental-range ballistic-missile target vehicles. Work includes target production, flight-test support and logistics through August 2035 at sites in Arizona, Utah and Maryland, with $8.786 million in fiscal 2026 funds obligated initially. These vehicles provide representative threats for testing homeland missile-defence sensors, interceptors and command systems. The award strengthens test infrastructure rather than adding operational missiles, and the ceiling value should not be interpreted as spending already obligated in full.