Northrop Grumman has broken ground on a new “Legacy Building” at its Roy Innovation Center (RIC) in Utah to expedite the next-generation Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) strategic deterrent programme for the US Air Force (USAF).
Work on the new facility will begin this summer, with completion scheduled for 2028.
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
This latest development will bring the RIC campus to a total of six buildings and increase its office space to more than 1.1 million square feet.
Northrop Grumman stated that the investment aims to grow the Sentinel programme’s presence and will result in the creation of several hundred new positions.
According to the company, nearly 5,000 Northrop Grumman staff across the US are currently contributing to the Sentinel programme, which is targeting initial capability for the Air Force in the early 2030s.
Northrop Grumman employs over 11,000 people in Utah, making it the state’s largest defence contractor.
Northrop Grumman Defense Systems corporate vice president and president Ben Davies said: “Utah’s world-class talent pool, strategic location to Hill Air Force Base and supportive community make it the ideal home for this expansion of Sentinel and other critical missions we support from this site.
“This groundbreaking symbolises our longstanding commitment to the state and reinforces our investment in national security and local prosperity through an enduring presence that will support multiple missions for decades to come.”
Northrop Grumman claims to have invested $13.5bn towards infrastructure and research and development over the past five years.
Of this, $2bn was specifically allocated to solid rocket motor capacity and related capabilities.
The company said this focus is meant to accelerate and scale up production for the Sentinel programme and bolster the wider strategic deterrence and space launch sectors.
In a separate announcement earlier this year, Northrop Grumman reported that it had completed the first launch of its redesigned ICBM target vehicle, which achieved all stated performance objectives during a missile defence test event.
