Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation

Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation Propulsion Systems - Promontory Division, doing business as Propulsion Systems-Promontory, designs, manufactures, and sustains solid rocket motors, energetic materials including CL-20 explosives and ammonium perchlorate, countermeasure munitions, and guided missile components for the Department of Defense and NASA as a prime contractor (61% of recent awards) and subcontractor to large aerospace primes. The division operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation and competes in full-and-open federal procurements without set-aside designations, reflecting its status as a large, established defense contractor.

Customer concentration is heavily weighted toward defense strategic systems and space propulsion. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center anchors the largest potential-value share at $7.93 billion across 7 awards, driven by the Space Launch System heavy-lift launch vehicle program; the Department of the Air Force Materiel Command follows with 19 awards and $2.46 billion combined potential value, centered on Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile sustainment, propulsion subsystem software testing, rocket motor aging and surveillance, and predictive life-assessment work. The Department of the Army, Department of the Navy (Naval Strategic Systems Programs, Naval Sea Systems Command, and Naval Air Warfare Center), and Air Force Research Laboratory account for the remaining customer base. Across the top five customers by potential value, NASA and Air Force Materiel Command represent approximately 73% of the $10.77 billion combined potential value across all awards.

Propulsion Systems-Promontory holds primary positions on multiple Air Force Materiel Command indefinite-delivery contracts. The Indefinite Delivery Contract FA821421D0001 carries 13 task orders with $374.4 million combined potential value; Indefinite Delivery Contract FA865020G0005 has 7 task orders; the Basic Ordering Agreement FA821320G0002 has 6 task orders valued at $1.3 million. A July 2026 Naval Strategic Systems Programs single-award IDIQ for Trident I and Trident II Sea-Launched Ballistic Missile motor disposal runs through June 2031 with a $32 million ceiling, with a $4.174 million cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order already placed for Trident II sustainment and support. Recent representative prime awards include an $8.661 million firm fixed-price delivery order from Air Force Materiel Command for MJU-62 countermeasures (October 2026, completion October 2027), an $8.977 million cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order for Minuteman III Stage 1 motor predictive life and failure-risk assessment (September 2025), a $5.762 million prototype development Other Transaction Agreement under the Cornerstone OTA / Strengthening America's Manufacturing & Industrial Base program for tape wrap process control and fin cutting capabilities (September 2025, Army Research Development and Engineering Command), and multiple smaller purchase orders for specialized energetic materials including CL-20 variants and ammonium perchlorate supplied to Naval Air Warfare Center, Air Force Research Laboratory, and Naval Sea Systems Command.

Activity shows growth and then contraction: 2 awards in 2022, 15 in 2023, 18 in 2024, 16 in 2025, and 7 through mid-October 2026. Recompete exposure is acute: 13 awards with ultimate completion in the next twenty-four months carry a combined potential value of $4.84 billion, reflecting the concentration risk on large strategic programs nearing renewal or re-evaluation windows. The division performs work across Corinne, Utah (primary manufacturing and engineering site), Magna, Utah (Trident motor disposal operations), and subordinate locations including Edwards Air Force Base, California and the Utah Test and Training Range on Hill Air Force Base.

As a subcontractor, Propulsion Systems-Promontory supplies rocket motors, energetic materials, and propulsion components to General Dynamics-OTS (Hydra-70 production and engineering), The Boeing Company (Space Launch System stages production and Ares I upper-stage development), Battelle Memorial Institute (carbon-carbon composite industrial base R&D and variability reduction), Aerovironment (missile system production), Triad National Security (Los Alamos National Laboratory management), and Sporian Microsystems (compact boost motor propellant stabilizer sensor research). The division's subcontract footprint is broad and recurring — 31 sub awards across the portfolio with recurring engagement to the same primes, particularly General Dynamics-OTS and The Boeing Company, across multiple task order iterations.

SCI-reportable invoiced activity on federal service contracts above the $150,000 threshold totaled $33.1 million across FY2022 and FY2023 ($20.9 million and $12.2 million respectively), with no SCI invoicing in FY2024 or FY2025 — reflecting a shift toward contract types not captured in SCI, such as goods and product manufacturing. The division delivered approximately 36.2 FTEs on SCI-reportable contracts in FY2022 and 19.5 FTEs in FY2023. On federal services work captured in SCI, median government-paid rates ran approximately $192.63/hr, with rates spanning a $186.05/hr 10th percentile to $199.21/hr 90th percentile. Across SCI-reportable prime contracts, subcontractors accounted for an average 17% share of total hours, with 4 named subcontractors reported — indicating the division primarily self-delivers on engineering and sustainment services when captured in SCI reporting.

The award portfolio is concentrated across engineering services (23 awards), explosives manufacturing (17 awards), research and development in physical and engineering sciences (11 awards), and ammunition manufacturing (10 awards), with corresponding PSC distribution across bulk explosives, engineering/technical support, pyrotechnics, and chemicals. The division's propulsion and energetic materials capabilities and strategic platform focus (Minuteman III, Trident, Space Launch System, advanced countermeasures) position it as a key component supplier and sustainment partner within the DoD and NASA propulsion industrial base.