$341M DARC Contract Awarded to Northrop Grumman through Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC)

February 23, 2022
DARC awarded through SpEC, space prototype

Recent DARC Update: https://defensescoop.com/2023/05/31/darc-critical-design-review/

Northrop Grumman has completed its critical design review and a software demonstration for the Space Force’s Deep-Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) program,

Quoted in DefenseScoop, “DARC will be the first to provide an all-weather, at all times capability in support of the space domain awareness mission that’s critical to national and global security,” Pablo Pezzimenti, vice president of integrated national systems at Northrop Grumman, said in a statement. “The successful critical design review is demonstration of our ability to develop a complex, advanced system with agility and speed.”

Awarded on February 22, 2022, the DARC contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman Corporation through the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) by Space Systems Command (SSC).

The Request for Prototype Proposals (RPP) was released as a part of the larger DARC program created to enhance our nation’s capabilities in Space Domain Awareness (SDA). The solutions created through DARC will be vital in creating a resilient space enterprise.

Upon successful delivery, Northrop Grumman will produce a DARC rapid prototype that maximizes the mission functionality, is compliant with the DARC RPP SOW, Government Reference Architecture, Open System Architecture, and meets the affordability target. This prototype solution will provide an operational leave behind capability by 2025. Upon completion of its critical design review and software demonstration, next steps are to test key subsystems.

“We are very honored to have been chosen by Space Systems Command to provide this important SDA capability for our nation,” said Pablo Pezzimenti, Vice President of the Integrated Systems Business Unit at Northrop Grumman Corporation. “Given Northrop Grumman’s exceptional capabilities in radar development, digital engineering, and agile software delivery, we were able to leverage technology and expertise from across the company to craft a solution we felt best meets the mission need. We are pleased SSC saw the value of our approach, and our entire team is eager to begin working on this important program.”

Northrop Grumman is an industry-leading provider of end-to-end space and launch systems and capabilities serving national security, civil and commercial customers headquartered in Dulles, Virginia.

About SpEC

The Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) was created in 2017 through the Air Force Space Systems Command to bridge the gap between military buyers and commercial space startups and small businesses through OTAs. Companies interested in joining the Space Enterprise Consortium can find more information about the organization, including how to join at https://www.space-enterprise.org/.

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