A Boeing-led team has finished building 20 new silos for the homeland missile defense system at Fort Greely, Alaska, growing the number of interceptors that can be emplaced there from 40 to 60.
Boeing recently announced it had officially installed “the first of 20 additional” silos for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system — now over 20 years old — designed to counter intercontinental ballistic missile threats from North Korea and Iran. This also included silo interface vaults, which are “adjacent underground electronics rooms that maintain the readiness and effectiveness of interceptors,” according to a company statement.
The silos are located at the fourth missile field at Fort Greely. There are 40 Ground-Based Interceptors, or GBIs, in place there, with another four in the ground at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
The expansion effort initially began under President Donald Trump’s first term and work continued through the Biden administration.
The Pentagon and the Missile Defense Agency initiated reprogramming funding in fiscal 2017 to increase the number of ground-based interceptors in a new missile field at the Alaskan fort from 44 to 64.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, recently proposed a bill to expand the GMD system from 64 to 80 silos and consider a similar site on the East Coast of the continental U.S. as part of possible elements of President Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense architecture for the homeland. The president signed an executive order to establish the missile defense shield during his first few weeks in office.
Boeing won a contract from the MDA to integrate, test and ensure the readiness of the GMD system in the summer of 2022.
Boeing originally held the development and sustainment contract for the GMD system, which was set to expire in 2023, but MDA split the contract to encourage competition and thus drive innovation amid system modernization efforts.
Subsequently, the MDA awarded Northrop Grumman a contract to integrate and manage weapon systems with the GMD system and a contract to Lockheed Martin to field, maintain and upgrade its battle command system.
MDA will determine whether the silos will house additional GBIs, the Next-Generation Interceptor — which is currently in development to replace GBI — or a combination of both, a Boeing spokesperson said.
The MDA awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin and its L3Harris-owned Aerojet Rocketdyne partner to build the Next-Generation Interceptor nearly a year prior to its deadline for choosing between it and a Northrop and RTX team.
Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.
