Orbital Sciences LLC

Orbital Sciences LLC Launch Vehicles Division, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, operates as a prime contractor on full-and-open defense contracts with no set-aside designations, delivering propulsion systems, engineering services, and operations and maintenance support for naval aviation and missile defense programs. The division, headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, competes predominantly as a large defense firm rather than under small business or other set-aside categories.

The division's federal customer base is concentrated within the Department of Defense. The Naval Air Warfare Center dominates recent award volume, issuing 106 awards with $177.3 million combined potential value for the GQM-163A supersonic aerial target drone program, where Orbital Sciences holds the primary engineering and operations contract. The broader Department of the Navy Naval Air Systems Command has awarded 91 additional orders totaling $351.5 million. The Department of the Air Force Space Command Space and Missile Systems Center accounts for 88 awards worth $1.98 billion, representing the largest single dollar concentration in the portfolio, while the Missile Defense Agency issued 28 awards worth $61.7 million. These five customer segments account for 81% of the division's recent award count.

Orbital Sciences' prime footprint is dominated by delivery orders under Navy IDCs. The top five parent vehicles are Navy Indefinite Delivery Contract N6893618D0015 (64 task orders, $54.9 million combined potential value), Air Force Indefinite Delivery Contract F0470103D0202 (32 task orders, $309.3 million), Navy Basic Ordering Agreement N0001910G0010 (25 task orders, $25.4 million), Air Force Indefinite Delivery Contract F0470103D0204 (24 task orders, $44.4 million), and Navy Indefinite Delivery Contract N0001905G0027 (24 task orders, $27.4 million). The division places work across 22 distinct federal agencies through 393 prime awards representing 96% of recent activity.

GQM-163A work anchors the Naval Air Warfare Center relationship. Recent representative prime awards include a $2.496 million delivery order (March 2026) for the Japan CHU-SAM-KAI task order, a $1.455 million order (March 2026) for GQM-163A operation and maintenance at NAS Point Mugu, California, a $2.517 million order (May 2025) for GQM-163A engineering services, and a $2.168 million order (October 2025) for GQM-163A operation and maintenance. All GQM-163A orders carry cost-plus-fixed-fee pricing and no set-aside designation. Work spans Chandler, Arizona and NAS Point Mugu, California.

In its subcontractor role, Orbital Sciences operates under The Boeing Company on the Missile Defense Agency Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Development and Sustainment Contract, providing propulsion systems and manufacturing support across multiple continuation modifications from October 2024 through March 2025. This represents the division's primary sub footprint — 18 total sub awards (4% of activity) with no other named primes in the recent source.

Award activity per year has trended: 13 awards in 2022, 7 in 2023, 19 in 2024, 9 in 2025, and 4 through March 2026 (representing a partial year). The division faces minimal recompete cliff exposure — only 4 awards with ultimate completion dates in the next twenty-four months carry $5.6 million combined potential value. Recent obligated spending stands at $2.27 billion across the portfolio (64% of combined potential value).

The division's capability footprint centers on guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing (151 awards), engineering services (105 awards), and aircraft maintenance and repair (22 awards). NAICS concentration in guided missile manufacturing and space vehicle systems, combined with PSC concentration in National Defense R&D Services and missile maintenance and repair, reflects sustained specialization in propulsion, target systems, and aerospace engineering support for Navy aviation and Air Force strategic systems.