RGS-A Concept Image from U.S. Space Command

Northrop Grumman Corp. completed a successful preliminary design review (PDR) of the Relay Ground Station-Asia (RGS-A) it has been working on for the U.S. Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific‘s missile warning system. The company said Wednesday that it completed the PDR one month ahead of its contract schedule to show that it is accelerating its production processes to meet critical military needs at a rapid pace.

The milestone is part of a $99.6 million five-year contract Northrop Grumman was awarded from NIWC Pacific last year to design, develop, integrate, test and deliver the relay ground station. NIWC Pacific will develop six antennas for RGS-A to enable the Space Systems Command (SSC) next generation Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) ground system which aims to keep legacy satellites in geosynchronous orbit.

Northrop Grumman said RGS-A will be deployed to Guam and is on schedule to be installed by late 2025.

“The [RGS-A] preliminary design review exceeded our customers’ expectations and is the next step in delivering much-needed new capabilities to the Pacific region. Our advanced technologies will deliver what is needed to support missile-warning and missile-tracking satellites that protect our nation and its allies,” Aaron Dann, vice president of strategic force programs for Northrop Grumman said in a statement.