The two teams competing to develop the Next-Generation Interceptor—Lockheed Martin and a Northrop Grumman-Raytheon Technologies partnership—are entering an initial baseline phase that will lead into a preliminary design review for a system designed to protect the U.S. from long-range missile attacks.

The Pentagon awarded multibillion-dollar technology development and risk-reduction contracts to Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for the Next-Generation Interceptor (NGI), officially ousting Boeing from the competition.

Ahead of the fiscal 2022 budget rollout, 24 Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee are urging President Biden to fund nuclear triad modernization and homeland defense programs.