Northrop Grumman has won a $100 million contract to support the United States Air Force’s development of the Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW) subsystem. Specifically, Northrop is to assist the Air Force in developing seeker components, test and evaluation support, and science and technology development.

This program is set to take place in Baltimore, Maryland until December 31, 2034, according to Elodie Collins at GovCon Wire, a government contracting news website.

The Air Force’s Stand-in Attack Weapon subsystem is a next-generation air-to-ground missile that Northrop is already building for the Air Force. It is specifically designed to pierce pesky anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) bubbles, such as mobile missile launchers, GPS jammers, command-and-control nodes, and anti-satellite (ASAT) systems.

These A2/AD bubbles are among the most problematic threats the American military is faced with today. China, Russia, even Iran and North Korea—possibly even smaller states like Venezuela—have some level of A2/AD capability, which is causing all manner of headaches for the United States as it works to project power in regions that are contested by these powers. 

Some A2/AD threats are more serious than others, with China’s being the most comprehensive and complex. Indeed, with tensions roiling between China, Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan—all of which are American allies—fears abound that the US military might soon have to

© The National Interest