Brenda Marie Rivers
The U.S. Army has chosen a General Dynamics and Raytheon joint venture to help the military service manage a missile test range located in the Marshall Islands.
Range Generation Next will provide maintenance and testing support at the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site as part of a potential 10-year, $502M contract, Raytheon said Monday.
The contract calls for RGNext to maintain launch and safety systems at the site, including the radar, optical and telemetry sensors deployed on the Kwajalein Atoll. The venture will also operate mission and safety control facilities on the island, as well as range and space operations centers in Huntsville, Ala.
"The Reagan Test Site is used for some of our nation's most important defense programs," said Todd Probert, vice president of Raytheon's intelligence, information and services business.
Probert added the Army chose RGNext based on the venture's experience operating launch ranges and its ability to provide knowledge to support a critical mission.
More than 300 engineers, technicians and launch support personnel were hired to carry out
RGNext currently helps the U.S. Air Force manage rocket launch sites at Vanderberg AF Base in Florida and at Cape Canaveral AF Station in California.
