NGC Successfully Launches Supersonic Sea-Skimming Target in NATO Demo

May 29, 2025

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Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) successfully launched two threat-representative GQM-163A “Coyote” targets from Hebrides Launch Facility in Scotland during the 2025 NATO Formidable Shield demonstration to test anti-ship cruise missile defense systems and train allied forces. This biennial, multinational exercise focuses on air and missile defense over a series of three weeks.

• Formidable Shield exercises involve a series of live-fire events against subsonic and supersonic targets, incorporating multiple allied ships, aircraft and ground forces connecting across the battlespace. 
• The company’s GQM-163A is the only supersonic sea-skimming target manufactured in the United States and is a program of record for the U.S. Navy, providing a cost-effective target to simulate advanced supersonic anti-ship cruise missile threats.
• Northrop Grumman has participated in three Formidable Shield at-sea exercises since 2021, providing threat-representative target vehicles that are specifically tailored to emulate customer-specified adversary capabilities and prepare the warfighter for potential operational threats.

Expert:
Robin Heard, director, targets, Northrop Grumman: “Traveling at twice the speed of sound, GQM-163A targets play a crucial role in refining U.S. and allied Navy missile defense capabilities because they simulate realistic threats to challenge the systems and warfighters responsible for countering adversary attacks. Exercises like Formidable Shield are invaluable opportunities to prepare the multinational force for potential operational threats, improve interoperability and demonstrate the capability of the joint force in can’t-fail environments.”

Details:
The GQM-163A design integrates a solid-fuel, air-breathing, ducted rocket propulsion system into a compact missile airframe that’s capable of achieving speeds over Mach 2.5 while flying only 15 feet above the surface of the ocean. Northrop Grumman has produced more than 190 Coyote target vehicles since 2000, when Naval Air Systems Command first awarded the contract to produce the targets. Over the course of two decades, the company has been awarded 17 full-rate production contracts and has launched more than 135 Coyote targets to support critical missile defense demonstrations.

Northrop Grumman is a leading provider of threat-representative target vehicles used in the test and verification of the nation’s missile defense systems. The company is leading the industry in advanced avionics, adaptable vehicle enhancement kits and advanced payloads, combining with its technology expertise in solid rocket motors, to rapidly configure target vehicles replicating sophisticated adversary threats.  

With nearly 100,000 employees and over 30 million square feet of manufacturing space – more than 500 football fields – Northrop Grumman has the capacity, scale, and agility to drive innovation at unprecedented speeds. The company’s manufacturing approaches do more than just produce; they accelerate and enhance the entire process from design and development to production and testing. Northrop Grumman has invested in U.S. infrastructure, R&D, its workforce, and its supply chain to deliver today and tomorrow’s national security needs.

Source : Northrop Grumman Corporation