Northrop Grumman's Sentinel Program Advances Towards 2027 First Flight

Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Air Force are making substantial progress on the Sentinel program, advancing toward its first flight in 2027 and initial capability in the early 2030s. The program is accelerating development through missile testing, infrastructure prototyping, and supply chain readiness, utilizing a transformed acquisition approach. Northrop Grumman has invested $13.5 billion in infrastructure and R&D over the past five years, including $2 billion specifically for solid rocket motor capacity, to support the program's speed and scale. This progress aims to quickly field the Sentinel weapon system, which will replace the aged ground-based leg of the nuclear triad.