U.S. Navy funds Trident D5 support in $453M deal to Draper

Key Points
  • Draper Lab received a $453.9 million U.S. Navy contract modification for engineering support on the Trident D5 missile guidance subsystem.
  • The contract includes work through 2028 and obligates Navy procurement, R&D, operations, and Foreign Military Sales funds.

Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc. has been awarded a $453.9 million modification to a previously announced U.S. Navy contract for continued engineering and support services related to the Trident D5 submarine-launched ballistic missile guidance subsystem.

Draper will provide technical support for the Trident D5 guidance system, a critical component of the U.S. Navy’s sea-based nuclear deterrent.

Work under the contract will be performed across three locations: Cambridge, Massachusetts (79%), Pittsfield, Massachusetts (16%), and El Segundo, California (5%). The effort is scheduled for completion by September 30, 2028.

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Funding includes:

  • $275,678,677 in Fiscal Year 2026 Weapons Procurement (Navy) funds,
  • $6,780,365 in FY26 Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (Navy) funds,
  • $46,560,681 in FY26 Operations and Maintenance (Navy) funds, and
  • $5,792,764 in Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds.

All funding will be obligated at the time of award, and none will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, according to the statement.

The modification also supports a Foreign Military Sale (FMS), though the specific allied recipient has not been publicly identified.

The D5 missiles were originally developed in the 1980s, equipped with the upgraded guidance system supported under this contract, is deployed aboard Ohio-class submarines operated by the U.S. Navy and is expected to remain in service through the 2040s. The missile is also deployed on the United Kingdom’s Vanguard-class submarines.

Draper has served as the Navy’s long-time technical agent for the guidance system, supporting performance validation, software updates, and life-extension modifications.

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