US DoD selects Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for hypersonic interceptor.

According to information published by the U.S. Department of Defense on November 19, 2021, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has awarded Other Transactional (OT) Agreements to Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon Missiles and Defense to complete an accelerated concept design of the Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) for MDA’s regional hypersonic missile defense program.
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Launch of the Zircon hypersonic missile from the frigate Admiral Gorshkov (Picture source: Russian MoD)

Any prototypes designed will fit into the current Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system.

Interceptors will be fired from Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense destroyers using the standard Vertical Launch System (VLS) and will also integrate with the modified Baseline 9 Aegis Weapon System to detect, track, control, and engage hypersonic threats in the glide phase of the missile’s flight.

The GPI concept fits into the MDA’s missile defense architecture to provide the warfighter and its allies with reliable layered defense against regional hypersonic missile threats from rogue-nations.

The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System (Aegis BMD or ABMD) is a United States Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency program developed to provide missile defense against short to intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

It is part of the United States national missile defense strategy. Aegis BMD (also known as Sea-Based Midcourse) is designed to intercept ballistic missiles post-boost phase and prior to reentry.