An illustration of the LGM-35A Sentinel, the Air Force’s newest weapons system known as the ground-based strategic deterrent. (U.S. Air Force)
(Tribune News Service) — The Pentagon and the top House Democrat on defense policy have called out Northrop Grumman Corp. for a share of the blame for a projected 81% increase in the cost of the new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program to at least $141 billion.
“Appropriate steps have been taken consistent with the terms of the Air Force’s contract with Northrop Grumman to address shortfalls in contract performance with a continued focus on accountability,” the Pentagon said in a statement to Bloomberg News. “Going forward, the government and industry will both have to be part of the solution.”
A U.S. official following the program said the carefully worded statement underplayed internal Pentagon criticism of what’s seen as poor performance by Northrop contributing to cost growth and schedule delays for the complex launch and command facilities needed to operate the new nuclear-armed missiles. The company was hampered by severe hiring shortages in the first three years, according to the official, who asked not to be identified discussing the sensitive matter.
Northrop’s financial stake in the Sentinel program is enormous. The Air Force’s fiscal 2025 budget request of $4.5 billion is expected to grow to $6.6 billion in fiscal 2026 and $8.5 billion in 2027. Air Force officials have said the funds to cover projected cost increases wouldn’t be needed until later in the decade.
Northrop, which reports second quarter earnings Thursday, said in a statement that it’s “making important progress on this highly complex weapon system” and meeting its contract commitments as “we move toward delivery of this essential national security capability.”
But Representative Adam Smith of Washington State, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said in an interview that he was unsparing in his criticism during a July 11 meeting in his Capitol Hill office with Kathy Warden, Northrop’s chief executive officer.
“It’s shocking,” Smith said. “There’s gross malfeasance here both by the people who oversee the program and the contractor.”
William LaPlante, the undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, said on July 8 that government planners had failed to predict the true cost of the ground elements of the program - such as silos and more than 7,500 miles (12,000 kilometers) of fiber cable. “There are reasons for this cost growth but also no excuses,” he added, without singling out Northrop, which will oversee Bechtel Group Inc. in designing and constructing the launch infrastructure.
Smith didn’t elaborate on Northrop’s management shortfalls, citing concern not to reveal classified information, adding “let’s just say the program was not well-run.”
Smith said he told Warden “you’re in charge of making this work and you didn’t.” He said “they just kept taking the money and they kept moving forward without making the corrections that I think they fairly clearly should have made.”
He said Warden “basically acknowledged that and they were committed to doing better.” Northrop didn’t respond to a request for comment on Smith’s meeting with Warden.
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