Northrop associates with Lockheed for the replacement of the ICBM. Here is who else is involved.

WASHINGTON – Northrop Grumman has unveiled its team to design the next US intercontinental ballistic missile.

Technically, the ground-based strategic deterrent program, or GBSD, is still an open competition. Northrop remains the only competitor. Lockheed Martin was eliminated in late 2017 and Boeing retired from competition in July. Boeing said Northrop's acquisition of the Orbital ATK solid fuel rocket engine manufacturer, now known as Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, gave the competitor an unfair advantage.

Since then, Boeing has opened its doors at Northrop, claiming that a partnership between the two companies would benefit the development of GBSD. However, while there were rumors that the Air Force could push Northrop to give Boeing, at least part of its work, Boeing said Friday that Northrop rejected the proposal for collaboration.

The current Northrop team is divided as follows:

Greg Manuel, Northrop GBSD Leader, declined to comment on discussions with Boeing. However, Manuel's statement underscored the "national" nature of its chosen partners.

"What I can tell you is that we have formed this national team to bring deep expertise to the ICBM missile system community from across the defense sector at the service of the ICBM. air force, "Manuel said in a statement. "We are confident that our integrated team leverages the capabilities and capability of the industry to provide the Air Force with the best propulsion solution under the GBSD integrated weapons system. The main Air Force priorities for GBSD are schedule, security and accessibility. Our national team is best positioned to provide a secure and affordable GBSD solution on time. "

The presence of Lockheed is particularly noteworthy given its status as a former competitor of the program. The inclusion of the world's largest defense company on the Northrop team could provide Northrop with a cover against the arguments of Boeing and his supporters that Northrop is interfering with the GBSD effort by not including another important main number.

In 2016, Lockheed announced its collaboration with General Dynamics (control and control of weapon systems), Draper Laboratories (guidance and control systems), Moog (vector control systems) and Bechtel (launch facilities). Only GD seems to have accompanied Lockheed on the Northrop team.