Boeing [NYSE: BA] delivered the 500th Minuteman III Guidance Replacement Program (GRP) Missile Guidance Set (MGS) to the U.S. Air Force and Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) prime contractor Northrop Grumman Mission Systems during a Dec. 15, 2006, ceremony at Boeing's Guidance Repair Center in Heath, Ohio.
"Our Minuteman team has delivered on our commitments on time or ahead of our contract schedule for the past four years," said Charles Dutch, Boeing GRP director. "We expect to meet our customer's requirements for these guidance systems through early 2009."
The Guidance Replacement Program is one element of the U.S. Air Force's ICBM Prime Integration team. The program modernizes the nation's Minuteman III guidance system electronics, including hardware and software updates. The program extends the service life of the Minuteman III MGS through 2020. Boeing has been the only U.S. Air Force ICBM guidance system integration contractor for more than 40 years on the Minuteman I-II-III, Peacekeeper, Small ICBM and GRP.
In addition to the Guidance Replacement Program, Boeing is a member of the ICBM Prime Integration team and hosts ICBM repair activities at its Guidance Repair Center. Boeing's integrated product team spans several locations, including El Paso, Texas; Heath, Ohio; Mesa, Ariz.; Ogden, Utah; Anaheim, Calif., and Honeywell in Clearwater, Fla.