The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is tapping industry to design and build an interceptor capable of defending against regional hypersonic weapons threats, releasing a draft request for proposals to build prototypes.
The request directs industry to submit whitepapers by March 19 to build a Hypersonic Defense Regional Glide Phase Weapons System interceptor, with plans to select at least one prime contractor to build a prototype that would culminate in a flight test, according to the draft RFP with an updated issue date of Jan. 30 and posted to sam.gov, the federal government’s contact opportunities website.
The agency notes that negotiations following review of whitepapers and oral presentations could result in no awards, one or multiple.
By building a flight test vehicle under the program, MDA hopes to better understand the technical utility of such a regional hypersonic defensive system and “will provide a pathway to subsequent tactical interceptor and fire control capability,” the document states.
After a few years as a contract serviceman, I graduated with a degree in business law, and worked in defence industry related groups. This has given me the opportunity to work closely on a number of export markets related topics. As a result, I feel a certain legitimacy to write on these subjects.
