NSCCA/NSATE

The Air Force Nuclear Weapon Center (AFNWC) at Hill AFB, UT has approved a sole source justification and approval (J&A) document directing this acquisition to be awarded as a sole source contract to Northrop Grumman.

The Minuteman III (MMIII) is a mature weapon system that is in the Operations and Support Phase of its life cycle. As a critical leg in the strategic nuclear triad, the ICBM Weapon System requires continued sustainment of the critical software to ensure operational capabilities are maintained and new war-fighter requirements are implemented and independently certified for operational nuclear surety. The ICBM weapon system software requires updates and independent nuclear certification to provide a supportable and functional weapon system through 2039.

The engineering services provided under the future contract will directly and indirectly support nuclear surety certification of MMIII system software and hardware for Nuclear Safety Cross Check Analysis/Nuclear Safety Analysis and Technical Evaluation (NSCCA/NSATE). NSCCA/NSATE independently assesses that nuclear certified and critical software will only perform as intended by the design, that there has been no intentional/unintentional sabotage, assessed software complies with applicable requirements of AFMAN 91-118 and AFMAN 91-119, and will not cause a violation of the four DoD nuclear surety standards detailed in DoD3150.02.