The Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. (U.S. Army photo by Jason Cutshaw)
By Troy Turner
Range Generation Next LLC, which has its primary operational facilities in Huntsville, received a defense contract modification Monday extending a job award total that already is more than a half-billion dollars.
Also known as RGNext, the company has a well-established history of working with defense and space agencies to provide range, testing, engineering and other launch services for missile and space activity.
The newest contract modification adds more than $14 million to a deal that so far totals almost $547 million. It provides support for the Reagan Test Site on the Kwajalein Islands in the Pacific Ocean 2,300 miles southwest of Hawaii.
RGNext is a joint venture between Raytheon and General Dynamics Information Technology.
Its administrative offices are in Sterling, Virginia, although the work will be performed in Huntsville with an estimated completion date of Oct. 1, 2028.
RGNext leadership oversees a workforce of 400 employees and manages a diverse portfolio that includes space launch and range services, space situational awareness, ballistic missile isle and guided weapon tests, and cyber and software solutions.
Katie Boyle, president & CEO of RGNext.
Previous contracts include work performed at the Western Range, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; and the Eastern Range, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida.
Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, the contracting agency for the current contract.
The Huntsville-Pacific connection
The Army Space and Missile Defense Command in Huntsville commands many of the activities at the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site, or RTS, on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
RTS includes a range and test facility.
The RTS Operations Center-Huntsville, or ROC-H, meanwhile, is located in Huntsville, Alabama, more than 6,500 miles from Kwajalein.
The Huntsville center is the command-and-control facility for missile defense testing and for space operations at RTS.
Vanessa L. Kacer, principal engineer, Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site Operations Center in Huntsville, ensures the Huntsville Mission Control Center is properly configured to support its next mission in this 2022 file photo. (U.S. Army photos by Carrie David Campbell)
Kwajalein Atoll
The Pacific test site uses a full spectrum of support, including multiple radar frequencies, telemetry, and multiple high-speed optical and camera systems to capture every measurable data opportunity and provide data and information that is critical to system performance evaluations.
The test results from RTS verify the accuracy and reliability of the ICBM weapon system and provide data to the U.S. military’s efforts to maintain a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent.
There are SMDC personnel along with hundreds of other military, civilian and contractor personnel on Kwajalein.
(NASA photo)
RTS for more than 50 years has supported hundreds of missile tests ranging from validation of concepts and designs for ICBMs to anti-satellite systems and ballistic missile defense systems.
Sidenote: Kwajalein is west of the International Date Line, making it one day ahead of Hawaii and the continental United States. Officially, the time zone is MHT, or Marshall Islands Time, and is Coordinated Universal Time plus 12 hours. If it is 8 a.m. on Tuesday in Kwajalein, then it is 4 p.m. on Monday Eastern-Standard time in the U.S. during Daylight Saving Time.
The workweek on Kwajalein and Roi-Namur is Tuesday through Saturday, to correspond to the workweek in the United States. Sunday is the first day of the weekend, while Monday is a day for shopping, relaxing, recreation, yard work and patio sales. – U.S. Army
Information from Jason Cutshaw, USASMDC, regarding Reagan Test Site contributed to this report.
Troy Turner is the editor and senior consultant for AlaDefense.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. His bio can be found here.
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