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Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational
aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...
and
defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...
company. With 97,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $40 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military technology providers. Formed in 1994 through
Northrop Corporation Northrop Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1939 until its 1994 merger with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman. The company is known for its development of the flying wing design, most successfully the B-2 Spiri ...
's purchase of Grumman Aerospace, Northrop Grumman ranked as the third-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2022. The firm ranked on the 2022 ''Fortune'' 500 list of America's largest corporations. Northrop Grumman and its industry partners have won the
Collier Trophy The Robert J. Collier Trophy is awarded annually "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been t ...
nine times, most recently for the development and production of the
James Webb Space Telescope The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. As the largest telescope in space, it is equipped with high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects too old, Lis ...
, an orbiting observatory launched in 2021. Northrop Grumman leads the development of the B-21 Raider, a long-range, stealth
strategic bomber A strategic bomber is a medium- to long-range Penetrator (aircraft), penetration bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of air-to-ground weaponry onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating the enemy's capacity to wage war. Unl ...
that can drop conventional and
nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...
s; it will replace Northrop's own
B-2 Spirit The Northrop B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American Heavy bomber, heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth aircraft, stealth technology designed to penetrator (aircraft), penetrate dense anti-aircraft war ...
, the world's only known stealth bomber. Among its other projects are the production of the solid rocket boosters for NASA's
Space Launch System The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American Super heavy-lift launch vehicle, super heavy-lift Expendable launch system, expendable launch vehicle used by NASA. As the primary launch vehicle of the Artemis program, Artemis Moon landing progra ...
program. It was the sole bidder on the Air Force's Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program, which aims to develop and build a new
intercontinental ballistic missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...
.


History

Northrop Grumman can trace its lineage back to the beginning of the 20th century when the Grumman Corporation was founded on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
, New York. Here, Leroy R. Grumman established the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation in December 1929. By 1939, the company has expanded and relocated to Bethpage, New York. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the company built most US Navy aircraft. After the war it branched out into making the first
aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...
s using left-over materials no longer needed for aircraft. Later the firm created a myriad of products such as
ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typic ...
s, all-weather radars, the
Apollo Lunar Module The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed sp ...
, land and sea-based
fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...
and Stealth bombers. Founded in California in 1939 by
Jack Northrop John Knudsen Northrop (November 10, 1895 – February 18, 1981) was an American aircraft industrialist and designer who founded the Northrop Corporation in 1939. His career began in 1916 as a draftsman for Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing ...
, the
Northrop Corporation Northrop Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1939 until its 1994 merger with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman. The company is known for its development of the flying wing design, most successfully the B-2 Spiri ...
was reincorporated in Delaware in 1985. Northrop made a series of light-weight fighter aircraft such as the F-5, YF-17, and F-20. However, Northrop was best known for its experimental flying wing aircraft, the XB-35 and YB-49 of the late 1940s and early 1950s. These flying wing aircraft, while unsuccessful, would pave the way for the
B-2 Spirit The Northrop B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American Heavy bomber, heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth aircraft, stealth technology designed to penetrator (aircraft), penetrate dense anti-aircraft war ...
Stealth Bomber, on which Northrop was the prime contractor. After the end of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, Northrop made a series of acquisitions, buying Grumman Aerospace, Westinghouse and
TRW Inc. TRW Inc. was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, electronics, Automotive industry, automotive, and Credit bureau, credit reporting.http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/TRW-Inc-Company-Hist ...
in addition to a number of other enterprises. In 2018, Northrop Grumman completed the purchase of
Orbital ATK Orbital ATK Inc. was an American aerospace manufacturer and defense industry company. It was formed in February 9, 2015 from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alliant Techsystems (ATK). Orbital ATK designed, built, and de ...
, which has since been renamed to Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. Northrop Grumman is one of the largest defense contractors in the world.


1990s

In 1994, Northrop Aircraft bought Grumman Aerospace, which built the
Apollo Lunar Module The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed sp ...
to create Northrop Grumman (NG) at a cost of $2.1 billion. The company purchased the remaining 51% interest in ''Vought Aircraft Company'' (Vought) in August 1994 for $130 million taking full control of the company after it had purchased an initial 49% interest in September 1992 for $45 million. In 1996, the new company acquired substantially all of the defense and electronics systems business of ''Westinghouse Electric Corporation,'' Westinghouse Electronic Systems, a major manufacturer of radar systems, for $2.9 billion, and Xetron Corporation. In 1997, the defense computer contractor Logicon was added, which had acquired Geodynamics Corporation in March 1996 and Syscon Corporation in February 1995. Northrop was the prime contractor on the radical YF-23 which was one of two candidates for the
Advanced Tactical Fighter The Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) was a program undertaken by the United States Air Force to develop a next-generation air superiority fighter to replace the F-15 Eagle. The proposed fighter was intended to counter emerging worldwide threa ...
but would eventually lose to the
F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is an American twin-engine, jet-powered, all-weather, supersonic stealth fighter aircraft. As a product of the United States Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was de ...
. Northrop later partnered with Lockheed on the F-35 and serves as a principal member of the Lockheed Martin industry led team. In 1998, a merger between Northrop Grumman and competitor
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...
was considered but abandoned after resistance from the Department of Defense and Department of Justice. That same year, it acquired Inter-National Research Institute Inc. In 1999, the company acquired Teledyne Ryan, developer of surveillance systems and unmanned aircraft, California Microwave, Inc., and the Data Procurement Corporation. On March 19, 1999, Northrop Grumman revised its fourth-quarter results to a net loss because of problems related to its dealings with start-up satellite launch company Kistler Aerospace Corp. In 1999, Northrop Grumman and SAIC created AMSEC LLC as a joint venture, which grew "from $100 million in revenue in 2000 to approximately $500 million in fiscal year 2007."


2000s

In 2000, NG acquired Federal Data Corporation, Navia Aviation As, Comptek Research, Inc., and Sterling Software, Inc. In 2001, the company acquired
Litton Industries Litton Industries, Inc., was an American defense contractor that specialized in shipbuilding, aerospace, electronic components, and information technology. The company was founded in 1953 and was named after inventor Charles Litton Sr., who was ...
, a shipbuilder and defense electronics systems provider for the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
. During the acquisition process, a new Delaware holding company, NNG, Inc., was formed, which merged with Northrop Grumman through a one-for-one common shares exchange in April 2001. Both Northrop Grumman and Litton became subsidiaries of the new holding company. The original Northrop Grumman Corporation then changed its name to "Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation"; the holding company, NNG, Inc., changed its name to "Northrop Grumman Corporation". Later that year,
Newport News Shipbuilding Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the sole designer, builder, and refueler of aircraft carriers and one of two providers of submarines for the United States Navy. Founded as the Chesapeake Dry Dock ...
was added. On November 1, 2001, Northrop Grumman restated its third-quarter profit after halting work on two ships for American Classic Voyages, which filed for bankruptcy protection. In 2002, Northrop Grumman acquired
TRW Inc. TRW Inc. was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, electronics, Automotive industry, automotive, and Credit bureau, credit reporting.http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/TRW-Inc-Company-Hist ...
, which had acquired Braddock Dunn & McDonald (BDM) in 1997, and became the Space Technology sector based in
Redondo Beach Redondo Beach (Spanish for ) is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent beach cities along the southern portion of Santa Mo ...
, California, and the Mission Systems sector based in
Reston, Virginia Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, and a principal city of both Northern Virginia and the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Reston's population was 63,226. Founded in 1964, Rest ...
, with sole interest in their space systems and laser systems manufacturing. The Aeronautical division was sold to Goodrich, and the automotive divisions were spun off and retained the TRW name. There were 15 acquisitions from 1994 to 2003. Northrop Grumman partnered with
EADS Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate defence and space and helicopter divisions. Airbus has long been th ...
from the mid-2000s to offer the KC-30 Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft in the U.S. Air Force's KC-X tanker competition. In February 2008 the U.S. Air Force chose KC-30, but in September 2008 the Defense Department suspended the tanker program and in March 2010, Northrop Grumman announced it was withdrawing from the competition, deeming the revised requirements to be weighted in favor of the Boeing KC-46.Ostrower, Jon
"Northrop Grumman declines to bid on latest KC-X RFP."
''Flight International'', March 9, 2010.
On January 1, 2006, Northrop Grumman opened its business sector called 'Technical Services'. Northrop Grumman and
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
collaborated on a design concept for
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
's upcoming
Orion spacecraft Orion (Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or Orion MPCV) is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used in NASA's Artemis program. The spacecraft consists of a Crew Module (CM) space capsule designed by Lockheed Martin that is paired with a Eu ...
(previously the Crew Exploration Vehicle), but the contract went to rival
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...
on August 31, 2006. In 2006, Northrop Grumman had intended to bid for the U.S. Air Force's
Next-Generation Bomber The Next-Generation Bomber (NGB; unofficially called the 2018 Bomber or B-3 Bomber) was a program to develop a new medium bomber for the United States Air Force. The NGB was initially projected to enter service around 2018 as a stealthy, subson ...
. Though it has not built a large manned aircraft since wrapping up B-2 Spirit production in the 1990s, the company has "been working hard to turn that perception around, with the skills and capabilities that back it up."Christie, R. "Northrop Grumman Hopes for Big Role in DoD Bomber Plan." ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
''. July 10, 2006.
However, by 2009, the teams working on that project were dispersed, as USAF's focus turned to a long-range strike instead. Northrop Grumman was one of two teams competing for the
Long Range Strike Bomber The Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) is a development and acquisition program to develop a long-range strategic bomber for the United States Air Force, intended to be a heavy-payload stealth aircraft that can deliver thermonuclear weapons. Init ...
, and in October 2015 won the contract for the Long Range Strike Bomber. On July 20, 2007, Northrop Grumman became the sole owner of
Burt Rutan Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan (; born June 17, 1943) is a retired American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, and energy-efficient air and space craft. He designed the recor ...
's
Scaled Composites Scaled Composites (often called simply Scaled) is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman. It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, United States. Founded to d ...
. In 2007, Northrop Grumman created 'National Workforce Centers' as an alternative to
offshoring Offshoring is the relocation of a business process from one country to another—typically an operational process, such as manufacturing, or supporting processes, such as accounting. Usually this refers to a company business, although state gover ...
. Locations are Auburn, Alabama; Corsicana, Texas; Fairmont, West Virginia; Helena, Montana; Johnstown, Pennsylvania; and
Lebanon, Virginia Lebanon is a town in Russell County, Virginia, United States. The population was 3,424 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Russell County, Virginia, Russell County. History The town of Lebanon was founded in 1818 as per an effort to ...
. The
Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City is the county seat of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It is located on the eastern slope of the Black Hills in western South Dakota and was named after Rapid Creek (South Dakota), Rapid Creek, where the settlement deve ...
location closed in January 2012. In July 2008, three of four Northrop Grumman employees ( Thomas Howes, Marc Gonsalves and Keith Stansell) were freed during Operation Jaque after five years of captivity following their aircraft crash in the Colombian jungle. The fourth employee, Tom Janis, had been killed by the
FARC The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (, FARC–EP or FARC) was a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict starting in 1964. The FARC-EP was officially founded in 1966 from peasan ...
shortly after the crash in 2003. In January 2008, Northrop Grumman combined its Newport News and Ship Systems sectors into a new business unit named Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. On March 31, 2011, this was spun off as
Huntington Ingalls Industries Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII) is the largest military shipbuilding company in the United States as well as a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. HII, ranked No. 375 on the Fortune 500, was formed ...
, Inc. ().


2010s

In November 2010, NASA selected Northrop Grumman for consideration of potential contract awards for
heavy lift launch vehicle A heavy-lift launch vehicle (HLV) is an orbital launch vehicle capable of lifting payloads between (by NASA classification) or between (by Russian classification) into low Earth orbit (LEO).50t payloads" Heavy-lift launch vehicles often carry ...
system concepts, and propulsion technologies. From 2013, Northrop Grumman participates in the DARPA Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN) program, and received $2.9 million for Phase 1 and $19 million for Phase 2. The TERN program attempts to launch and recover a UAV from mid-size ships to provide long distance intelligence gathering. In July 2013, Northrop Grumman won a training-simulation contract potentially worth $490 million to support the U.S. Air Force's next-generation
aerial warfare Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare. Aerial warfare includes bombers attacking tactical bombing, enemy installations or a concentration of enemy troops or Strategic bombing, strategic targets; fi ...
virtual-training network. As of 2018, Northrop Grumman became the primary contractor for the
James Webb Space Telescope The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. As the largest telescope in space, it is equipped with high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects too old, Lis ...
. In October 2015, the US Military announced it had awarded Northrop Grumman the contract for the successor to the B-1 and
B-52 The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Ai ...
, subsequently identified as the B-21. The initial value is $21.4 billion, and could eventually be worth up to $80 billion. In September 2017, Northrop announced its intention to acquire missile and rocket manufacturer
Orbital ATK Orbital ATK Inc. was an American aerospace manufacturer and defense industry company. It was formed in February 9, 2015 from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alliant Techsystems (ATK). Orbital ATK designed, built, and de ...
Inc for $9.2 billion: $7.8 billion in cash plus $1.4 billion in net debt. On November 29, 2017, the acquisition was approved by Orbital ATK stockholders and on June 6, 2018, the merger closed after final FTC approval. The acquired company assets and naming were absorbed and become a division named Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems.


2020s

In June 2020, NASA granted a $935 million contract to Northrop Grumman for the
Lunar Gateway The Lunar Gateway, or simply Gateway, is a planned space station which is to be assembled in orbit around the Moon. The Gateway is intended to serve as a communication hub, science laboratory, and habitation module for astronauts as part ...
Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module, based on its Cygnus cargo spacecraft. In July 2022, Northrop subcontracted Solstar to provide the wireless-enabling technology to enable a Wi-Fi access for employees and equipment in the module. In September 2020, Northrop Grumman won a $298 million sole-source contract for the Evolved Strategic Satcom program, an anti-jam communications satellite program intended to replace the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite program where Northrop Grumman was a subcontractor to
Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...
. In December 2020, Northrop sold its federal IT and mission support business to
Veritas Capital Veritas Capital Fund Management, L.L.C. is a New York–based private-equity firm founded in 1992 that invests in companies providing critical products and services, primarily technology-enabled products and services, to government and commercial ...
for $3.4 billion in cash. Veritas placed the group into its Peraton subsidiary. The sale closed in February 2021. The Mars Ascent Propulsion System for
Mars sample-return mission A Mars sample-return (MSR) mission is a proposed mission to collect rock and dust samples on Mars and sample-return mission, return them to Earth. Such a mission would allow more extensive analysis than that allowed by onboard sensors. Risks ...
Ascent Vehicle contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman on March 5, 2021. For this Northrop Grumman to make a 3–meter long,
two-stage A multistage rocket or step rocket is a launch vehicle that uses two or more rocket ''stages'', each of which contains its own engines and propellant. A ''tandem'' or ''serial'' stage is mounted on top of another stage; a ''parallel'' stage is ...
, solid-fueled Mars ascent rocket for the Mars Sample Return mission. This mission is to collect Perseverance's samples for return to Earth. In August 2022, Northrop Grumman announced it was moving production of the engines and structures for its Antares rockets to the U.S. from Russia and Ukraine. The move of Antares production fully to the U.S. will happen through a partnership with Texas-based
Firefly Aerospace Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an American private aerospace firm based in Cedar Park, Texas, that develops small- and medium-lift launch vehicles for commercial launches to orbit. The current company was formed when the assets of the former co ...
. Northrop Grumman had purchased Russian RD-181 engines to power the Antares 230+ series, and the rocket’s main body was manufactured by Ukraine’s Yuzhmash State Enterprise. Northrop Grumman's B-21 Raider is forecasted to enter test flights as early as late 2023, with the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
forecasted to acquire operational aircraft as early as 2030. It was reported in October 2023 that taxi tests for the B-21 Raider were underway. On September 15, 2023, Northrop Grumman was sanctioned by the Chinese government due to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. In May 2024, Northrop Grumman unveiled the Manta Ray, an underwater drone developed for the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA). The drone, which resembles its namesake sea creature, was designed to carry out long-duration, long-range military missions, including extended loitering on the sea bottom. The development of the Manta Ray posed several technical challenges, including overcoming the corrosive nature of seawater, preventing sea life from interfering with moving components, and operating under conditions where electromagnetic radiation, including sunlight, does not propagate well. The craft uses two four-bladed propellers on the wings to enhance the propulsion provided by its gliding system, which glides forward while moving up and down in the water column by changing its buoyancy. With an emphasis on minimal human oversight, the creation of the Manta Ray represents a significant advancement in unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) technology. In September 2024, Northrop Grumman won the U.S.
Missile Defense Agency The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is a component of the Federal government of the United States, United States government's United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense responsible for developing a comprehensive Missile defense, defe ...
(MDA) competition to develop and build the Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI).


Business sectors

As of the end of 2022, Northrop Grumman organized its business around four main sectors, each of which comprises two or more business areas: *Aeronautics Systems **Autonomous Systems **Manned Aircraft *Defense Systems **Battle Management & Missile Systems **Mission Readiness *Mission Systems **Airborne Multifunction Sensors **Maritime/Land Systems & Sensors **Navigation, Targeting & Survivability **Networked Information Solutions *Space Systems **Space and Launch **Strategic Missiles


Aeronautics Systems

Aeronautics Systems, headquartered in
Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ) is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent Beach Cities, beach c ...
, at the historic Space Park, produces aircraft, spacecraft, high-energy laser systems and microelectronics for the U.S. and other nations. This includes surveillance and reconnaissance, protected communications, intelligence, battle management, strike operations, electronic warfare, to missile defense, Earth observation, space science and space exploration. The
B-2 Spirit The Northrop B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American Heavy bomber, heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth aircraft, stealth technology designed to penetrator (aircraft), penetrate dense anti-aircraft war ...
strategic bomber, the E-8C Joint STARS
surveillance aircraft Surveillance aircraft are aircraft used for surveillance. They are primarily operated by military forces and government agencies in roles including intelligence gathering, maritime patrol, battlefield and airspace surveillance, observation (e. ...
, the
RQ-4 Global Hawk The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, Unmanned aerial vehicle, remotely-piloted surveillance aircraft introduced in 2001. It was initially designed by Ryan Aeronautical (now part of Northrop Grumman), and known as Tier II+ d ...
, and the T-38 Talon supersonic trainer are used by the
US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
. The US Army uses Northrop Grumman's RQ-5 Hunter unmanned air vehicle, which has been in operational use since 1995. The U.S. Navy uses Northrop Grumman-built aerial vehicles such as the
BQM-74 Chukar The BQM-74 Chukar is a series of aerial target drones produced by Northrop. The Chukar has gone through three major revisions, including the initial MQM-74A Chukar I, the MQM-74C Chukar II, and the BQM-74C Chukar III. They are recoverable, r ...
, RQ-4 Global Hawk-based MQ-4C Triton, MQ-8 Fire Scout, Grumman C-2 Greyhound,
Grumman E-2 Hawkeye The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Grumman Aircraft ...
, and the
EA-6B Prowler The Northrop Grumman (formerly Grumman) EA-6B Prowler is a twin-engine, four-seat, mid-wing electronic-warfare aircraft. Operated by both the United States Marine Corps and United States Navy between 1971 and 2019, it was derived from the A- ...
. Northrop Grumman provides major components and assemblies for different aircraft, such as the
F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, fighter and attack airc ...
, the
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are a series of American supersonic twinjet, twin-engine, Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft derived from the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Ho ...
, the
EA-18G Growler The Boeing EA-18G Growler is an American aircraft carrier, carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, a specialized version of the two-seat Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet. The EA-18G replaced the Northrop Grumman EA- ...
, and the
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...
. Aerospace systems also serves as the contractor for numerous space payloads and is the prime contractor for the
James Webb Space Telescope The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. As the largest telescope in space, it is equipped with high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects too old, Lis ...
.


Mission Systems

Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, headquartered in Linthicum, Maryland, creates military radar, sensors, and related products, including C4I
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
systems for
air defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...
, Airspace Management radar systems such as AMASS, and battlefield surveillance systems like the Airborne Reconnaissance Low (ARL). Tactical aircraft sensors include the AN/APG-68 radar, the AN/APG-80 AESA radar, and the AN/APG-83 AESA radar upgrade for the
F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...
, the AN/APG-77 AESA radar for the
F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is an American twin-engine, jet-powered, all-weather, supersonic stealth fighter aircraft. As a product of the United States Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was de ...
, and the AN/APG-81 AESA radar for the F-35 Lightning II, and the AN/AAQ-37 electro-optical Distributed Aperture System (DAS) for the F-35, and the APQ-164 Passive Electronically Scanned Array (PESA) radar for the
B-1 Lancer The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is a supersonic variable-sweep wing, heavy bomber used by the United States Air Force. It has been nicknamed the "Bone" (from "B-One"). , it is one of the United States Air Force's three strategic bombers, along with th ...
. Mission Systems produces and maintains the AWACS aerial surveillance systems for the U.S., the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, NATO, Japan, and others. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for the development and integration of the Air Force's $2-billion Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program. Northrop Grumman also supports the U.S. ballistic missile program, integrates various command, control and intelligence systems, and provides technical and management services, to governmental and military customers, all with an emphasis on cybersecurity. Many other smaller products are made by Northrop Grumman, such as
night vision goggles A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD) or night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The ...
and secure communications equipment.


Defense Systems

The Defense Systems sector, headquartered in
McLean, Virginia McLean ( ) is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population of the community was 50,773 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is ...
(with a Herndon mailing address), works on "the entire life cycle of civil and defense platforms and capabilities through a range of services"."Technology Services"
''Northrop Grumman Corporation''. Retrieved: September 18, 2017.
Vinnell, a Northrop Grumman subsidiary, provides training and communications for the military. In 2003, it landed a $48 million contract to train the
Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), also referred to as the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was formerly known as the Royal Iraq ...
. In 2005, the company won a $2 billion contract with
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
to overhaul most of the state's IT operations. Later that year, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
paid $1.2 billion in a contract with the company to provide maintenance of its AWACS radar.


Space Systems

On June 7, 2018, the acquisition of
Orbital ATK Orbital ATK Inc. was an American aerospace manufacturer and defense industry company. It was formed in February 9, 2015 from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alliant Techsystems (ATK). Orbital ATK designed, built, and de ...
was completed, and the former company was absorbed in Northrop Grumman as a new business sector called Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. With this acquisition, Northrop Grumman got more involved in the space industry, including the construction and launch of the Cygnus spacecraft. Until 2020 the firm was developing the
OmegA Omega (, ; uppercase Ω, lowercase ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and last letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numerals, Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value ...
space launch vehicle, intended to carry the U.S. government's
national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...
satellites into space. With Northrop Grumman's reorganization of its divisions effective January 1, 2020, NGIS was split, with most of the sector merging with other Northrop Grumman businesses into a new Space Systems sector. On August 8, 2022, Northrop Grumman announced it was moving production of the engines and structures for its Antares rockets to the U.S. from Russia and Ukraine. The move of Antares production fully to the U.S. will happen through a partnership with Texas-based
Firefly Aerospace Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an American private aerospace firm based in Cedar Park, Texas, that develops small- and medium-lift launch vehicles for commercial launches to orbit. The current company was formed when the assets of the former co ...
. Northrop Grumman had purchased Russian
RD-181 The RD-191 () is a high-performance single-combustion chamber rocket engine, developed in Russia and sold by Roscosmos. It is derived from the RD-180 dual-combustion chamber engine, which itself was derived in turn from the four-chamber RD-170 ( ...
engines to power the Antares 230+ series, and the rocket's main body was manufactured by Ukraine's Yuzhmash State Enterprise. The new arrangement mainly resolves the break in Antares manufacturing caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But in addition to salvaging the Antares rocket series, the cost-sharing deal also helps ensure NASA's cargo missions to the International Space Station keep flying regularly and brings muscle to Firefly's plan to build a larger rocket called Medium Launch Vehicle (MLV). Northrop Grumman and Firefly Aerospace will jointly produce an upgraded version of the Antares rocket, which will be known as the Antares 330. Northrop will provide the A330s upper stage, avionics, software and launch site operations. Firefly will supply seven engines and build the A330s largest structure, the first stage booster. Northrop and Firefly will also jointly develop the MLV.


Affiliated companies and partners

Remotec, a Tennessee-based subsidiary, is a manufacturer of remote control vehicles for explosive ordnance disposal and hazardous material handling. A UK-based subsidiary, Park Air Systems, provides VHF and UHF ground-to-air communications systems for the civil and defense markets. Northrop Grumman has also worked closely with Antenna Associates, Inc., a manufacturer of
Identification friend or foe Identification, friend or foe (IFF) is a combat identification system designed for command and control. It uses a transponder that listens for an ''interrogation'' signal and then sends a ''response'' that identifies the broadcaster. IFF syst ...
(IFF)/
Secondary Surveillance Radar Secondary surveillance radar (SSR)''Secondary Surveillance Radar'', Stevens M.C. Artech House, is a radar system used in air traffic control (ATC), that unlike primary radar systems that measure the bearing and distance of targets using the de ...
(SSR) antennas located in Massachusetts. In August 2007, Northrop Grumman acquired
Scaled Composites Scaled Composites (often called simply Scaled) is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman. It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, United States. Founded to d ...
in which it had previously owned a 40% stake. In 2008, Northrop Grumman began working with DHS Systems LLC, manufacturer of the Deployable Rapid Assembly Shelter (DRASH) in New York, as part of the U.S. Army's Standard Integrated Command Post System program."NG, DHS Technologies to support SICPS/TMSS."
''United Press International'', June 18, 2008.


Finances


Corporate governance

From 1990 to 2003, before the merger with Grumman in 1994, Kent Kresa was the
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of the company, who led the serial-acquisition strategy with a total of 15 additional acquisitions from 1994 to 2003, including Litton, Logicon, Westinghouse's defense electronics business, Ryan Aeronautical and
Newport News Shipbuilding Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the sole designer, builder, and refueler of aircraft carriers and one of two providers of submarines for the United States Navy. Founded as the Chesapeake Dry Dock ...
, and TRW. He then retired in 2003 at age 65. In 2003
Ronald Sugar Ronald D. Sugar (born July 30, 1948) is an American business executive. He was the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the Northrop Grumman Corporation from 2003 to 2009. In August 2018 he was elected as chairman of Uber. Earl ...
, the former
chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...
, took over as CEO. Effective October 1, 2003, Sugar also served as the company
chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
of the board. In January 2010, Wes Bush succeeded as CEO and became company president. In November 2015, Gloria Flach was named COO. She is the former president of the company's electric services sector. On July 12, 2018, Wes Bush announced that he would step down as CEO effective January 1, 2019, and would remain chairman of the board until July 2019. His successor is Kathy J. Warden, who has served in numerous roles at the company, most recently president and COO.


Board of directors

As of July 22, 2022: * Kathy J. Warden, CEO and president of Northrop Grumman * David Abney, former chairman and CEO of UPS * Marianne C. Brown, COO of
Sungard SunGard was an American multinational company based in Wayne, Pennsylvania, which provided software and services to education, financial services, and public sector organizations. It was formed in 1983, as a spin-off of the computer services di ...
* Donald E. Felsinger, former chairman and CEO of
Sempra Energy Sempra is a North American public utility holding company based in San Diego, California. The company is one of the largest utility holding companies in the United States with nearly 40 million consumers. Sempra's focus is on electric and natur ...
* Ann M. Fudge, former chairman and CEO of VMLY&R * William Hernandez, former CFO of PPG * Madeleine Kleiner, former general counsel of Hilton * Karl Krapek, former president and COO of
United Technologies United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational corporation, multinational list of conglomerates, conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous are ...
* Graham N. Robinson, president of Stanley Industrial, a business segment of
Stanley Black & Decker Stanley Black & Decker, Inc., formerly known as The Stanley Works, is a ''Fortune'' 500 American manufacturer of industrial tools and household hardware, and a provider of security products. Headquartered in the Greater Hartford city of Ne ...
* Gary Roughead, former
Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an Admiral (United States), admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the United States Secretary ...
* Thomas Schoewe, former CFO of
Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
* Jim Turley, former chairman and CEO of
Ernst & Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...
* Mark Welsh, former
Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force The chief of staff of the Air Force ( acronym: CSAF, or AF/CC) is the service chief of the United States Air Force. They are the principal military advisor to the secretary of the Air Force on matter pertaining to the Air Force. They are a m ...


Corporate headquarters

Since 2011, Northrop Grumman's headquarters are in
West Falls Church, Virginia West Falls Church is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 29,207 at the 2010 census. Before 2010, West Falls Church was officially named Jefferson (from Thomas J ...
(previously Jefferson), unincorporated
Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. With a population of 1,150,309 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most p ...
.Northrop Grumman Selects Falls Church Location for New Corporate Office (NYSE:NOC)
" Northrop Grumman. July 12, 2010. Retrieved: September 6, 2011. " ..980 Fairview Park Drive, Falls Church, Va. ..
Prior to 2010, the company was headquartered in
Century City, Los Angeles Century City is a 176-acre (71.2 ha) neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California, United States. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of downtown Los Angeles, Centu ...
, but announced plans on January 4, 2010, to move to the
Washington Metropolitan Area The Washington metropolitan area, also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV (short for Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is the metropolitan area comprising Washing ...
by 2011 to be closer to government customers.Crowe, Deborah.
Northrop to Move Corporate Office to D.C.
" ''
Los Angeles Business Journal The ''Los Angeles Business Journal'', established in 1979, is a weekly newspaper and online news source in Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most po ...
''. January 4, 2010. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
CEO Wesley Bush stated that the company needed to be located close to
Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...
lawmakers and officials from intelligence and military communities.Proctor, Charles.
Northrop Flew Under the Radar
" ''
Los Angeles Business Journal The ''Los Angeles Business Journal'', established in 1979, is a weekly newspaper and online news source in Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most po ...
''. January 11, 2010. Retrieved: January 10, 2010.
Northrop Grumman considered sites in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and in suburbs in
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
and
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. The ''
Los Angeles Business Journal The ''Los Angeles Business Journal'', established in 1979, is a weekly newspaper and online news source in Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most po ...
'' wrote "In a way, the announcement was not a surprise" due to the trend of aerospace companies moving to the DC area, the fact that the new CEO is from West Virginia and that CEOs often move corporate headquarters to places that they want the headquarters located. A Los Angeles area economic development consultant described the move announcement as a "structural failure at all levels for Los Angeles County." District of Columbia economic development officials were "pitching the city's urban hipness and proximity to Capitol Hill power brokers" to Northrop Grumman. Maryland promoted its highly educated workforce and its large number of federal facilities, while Virginia marketed itself as a state with relatively low taxes. In July 2010, the company announced its purchase of an existing building in Fairfax County and its move in summer 2011. It planned to consolidate its Century City headquarters and its existing
Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...
, offices into the new headquarters. It employed about 40,000 in the Washington DC metropolitan area, including DC and surrounding Maryland and Virginia.


Accolades and criticism

Northrop Grumman was named
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
's Company of the Year in 2002. Forbes's announcement credited the company with "master ngthe art of innovation." As of 2019, the company is included on
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
' list of "America's Best Large Employers". Since 2005 Northrop Grumman credits itself with sponsoring educational programs and donating thousands of dollars to various charities. Many members of the U.S. government have attended company events and spoken highly of the company and its contributions, for example
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
. In December 2007, Northrop Grumman Corporation was awarded the Ron Brown Award for Corporate Leadership, the only presidential award recognizing companies for outstanding achievement in employee and community relations.


Environmental record

In 2000, Northrop Grumman was designated a Primary Responsible Party under federal
Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...
laws at 13 hazardous waste sites and under state Superfund laws at eight sites. The corporation has also been linked to 52 superfund
toxic waste Toxic waste is any unwanted material in all forms that can cause harm (e.g. by being inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin). Mostly generated by industry, consumer products like televisions, computers, and phones contain toxic chemi ...
sites. Based on 2008 data, Northrop Grumman was the 62nd-largest corporate producer of
air pollution in the United States Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, Atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter, or biotic material, biological materials into the Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms ...
, per the
Political Economy Research Institute The Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) is an independent research unit at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. According to its mission statement, it "...promotes human and ecological well-being through our original research". PERI was ...
of the
University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...
. Northrop Grumman facilities released more than 23,798 pounds of toxic chemicals into the air in that year. In 2002, the Bethpage Community Park in
Bethpage, New York Bethpage (formerly known as Central Park) is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located within the Oyster Bay (town), New York, Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the South Shore (Long Isla ...
, owned by the company until the 1960s, was closed due to soil contamination with
polychlorinated biphenyls Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organochlorine compounds with the formula C12 H10−''x'' Cl''x''; they were once widely used in the manufacture of carbonless copy paper, as heat transfer fluids, and as dielectric and coolant fluids f ...
(PCBs). The company dumped cadmium, arsenic, chromium-tainted sludge, solvents, paints and PCBs at the site between 1949 and 1962. Additionally, two toxic chemical plumes centered under Bethpage Community Park and other surrounding land formerly owned by Grumman or Northrop Grumman have spread to under neighboring houses. In November 2013, the Bethpage Water District filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Northrop Grumman in Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York for contaminating the groundwater in Bethpage. In 2003, the company was among 84 parties with which the
United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...
, the
U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...
, and the state of
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
reached an estimated US$15 million settlement for the rehabilitation of the Mattiace Petrochemical Company Superfund site in Glen Cove,
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
. In the same year, Northrop Grumman agreed to pay $33,214 after EPA inspectors found
hazardous waste Hazardous waste is waste that must be handled properly to avoid damaging human health or the environment. Waste can be hazardous because it is Toxicity, toxic, Chemical reaction, reacts violently with other chemicals, or is Corrosion, corrosive, ...
violations at the Capistrano test site. As a response to many of the previous claims, the company has stood up as an organization for social responsibility. In 2008, Northrop Grumman launched its Environmental Sustainability program and an EHS Leadership Council, to advance its commitment to environmental performance both internally and externally. The Greenhouse Gas Inventory Project was launched to accurately quantify company-wide greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce the carbon footprint of Northrop Grumman operations, in anticipation of upcoming regulations. In October 2010, the company was named one of Computerworld's Top 12 Green-IT Organizations for its large-scale data center migration effort. In 2019, Northrop Grumman was named the US's largest corporate contributor to water pollution by the
Political Economy Research Institute The Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) is an independent research unit at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. According to its mission statement, it "...promotes human and ecological well-being through our original research". PERI was ...
of the
University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...
.


Political contributions and governmental ties

From 1990 to 2002, Northrop Grumman contributed $8.5 million to federal campaigns. According to
PAC Pac or PAC may refer to: Aviation * IATA code PAC Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport in Panama City, Panama * Pacific Aerospace Corporation, New Zealand, manufacturer of aircraft: ** PAC 750XL ** PAC Cresco ** PAC CT/4 ** PA ...
summary data compiled by Source Watch, the company gave US$1,011,260 to federal candidates in the 2005–2006 election cycle, compared to $10,612,837 given by all defense contractors in the same cycle. This donation amount was only behind that of General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin in the defense industry. The majority of the contributions, 63%, went to Republicans. Former Northrop Grumman Electronics Systems chief James G. Roche served as Secretary of the Air Force for two years under George W. Bush. Roche would eventually be nominated to head the Army, but withdrew his nomination among accusations of mismanaging a contract with
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
and of failing to properly handle the Air Force sexual assault scandals of 2003. According to CorpWatch, "at least seven former officials, consultants, or shareholders of Northrop Grumman" have held posts "in the Bush administration...including Deputy Secretary of Defense
Paul Wolfowitz Paul Dundes Wolfowitz (born December 22, 1943) is an American political scientist and diplomat who served as the 10th President of the World Bank, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, and dean of Paul H. Nitze Scho ...
, Vice-Presidential Chief of Staff I.
Lewis Libby I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby (first name generally given as Irv, Irve or Irving; born August 22, 1950) is an American lawyer and former chief of staff to Vice President of the United States, Vice President Dick Cheney known for his high-profile indic ...
, Pentagon Comptroller Dov S. Zakheim, and
Sean O'Keefe Sean Charles O'Keefe (born January 27, 1956) is a university professor at Syracuse University Maxwell School, former chairman of Airbus Group, Inc., former Secretary of the Navy, former Administrator of NASA, and former chancellor of Louisiana ...
, director of NASA." Wolfowitz and Libby have both since left the government amid scandals."Company Profile: Northrop Grumman."
''Corpwatch''. Retrieved: December 6, 2014.
The company engages third-party lobbying firms in jurisdictions where it has interests. For example, in South Australia it works with lobbying firm CMAX Communications.


Controversies

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Northrop was the target of several high-profile criminal and civil cases."US: Court Documents Unsealed in Northrop Grumman Case."
''CorpWatch'', April 22, 2004. Retrieved: December 5, 2014.
In 1995, Robert Ferro, an employee for TRW Inc., a company Northrop Grumman acquired in 2002, discovered that satellite components manufactured for the U.S. Air Force (USAF) were faulty and likely to fail in operation. TRW suppressed Ferro's report of the problem and hid the information from the USAF, even after a satellite in space equipped with the faulty components experienced serious anomalies. Ferro later sued Northrop Grumman in federal court under the federal
whistle-blower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...
law. In 1999, the company was sued for knowingly giving the Navy defective aircraft. This suit sought $210 million in damages. Ten years later, on April 2, 2009, Northrop Grumman agreed to pay $325 million to settle the suit. Ferro was awarded $48.8 million of the settlement. Northrop Grumman stated, "it believed that TRW had 'acted properly under its contracts' and that the company had substantive defenses against the claims." In 2001, federal investigators probed NG for fraud of more than $100 million, systematic overcharging for radar jammers and other high-tech devices used in the B-1 bomber, the F-15 fighter and the B-2 Stealth bomber.Corfman, Thomas A
"Feds probe Northrop in defense fraud case."
''Chicago Tribune'', August 30, 2001. Retrieved: December 5, 2014.
In 2003, the company was sued for overcharging the U.S. government for space projects in the 1990s. Northrop Grumman paid $111.2 million to settle out of court."Northrop Grumman pays $111 million to settle qui tam case against recent acquisition, TRW."
''Phillips and Cohen Press Release'', June 9, 2003.
From August 25 to September 2, 2010,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
's computer system operated by NG, under a $2.4 billion contract, experienced an outage which resulted in around 45,000 citizens not being able to renew their drivers licenses prior to their expiration. Computer systems for 26 of the state's 89 agencies were affected and Governor
Bob McDonnell Robert Francis McDonnell (born June 15, 1954) is an American politician, attorney, businessman, academic administrator, and former military officer who served as the 71st governor of Virginia from 2010 to 2014. He is a member of the Republica ...
announced that some data may have been permanently lost. In 2010 Northrop Grumman apologized for the outage, and agreed to fund an investigation. In 2012, controversy began over Northrop Grumman's
Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System The United States Army Integrated Air and Missile Defense
AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California and maintains significant operations in Austin, Texas. AMD is a hardware and fabless company that de ...
Battle Command System (IBCS) is a plug and fight, plug-and-fight network intended to let a radar or any other defensive sensor feed its data to any available weapon—colloquially, ...
(IBCS), when it missed its first deadline. Since then, the system has had a number of controversial developments. In 2016, a
Director, Operational Test and Evaluation The Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) is the principal staff assistant and adviser to the US Secretary of Defense on operational and live fire test and evaluation activities involving U.S. Department of Defense weapons systems. ...
found a number of major faults with the system, concluding it was "neither mature nor stable". Northrop Grumman's supply of weapons to Israel led to protests against the company during the
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
, including blocking the entrances at facilities in
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
and
Plymouth, Minnesota Plymouth is a city in Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. A suburb in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the city is about west of downtown Minneapolis. The population was 81,026 at the 2020 census, making it Minnes ...
. Students on
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
at
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
named Northrop Grumman as a company to divest from.


International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) violations

U.S. State Department investigators found that
Litton Industries Litton Industries, Inc., was an American defense contractor that specialized in shipbuilding, aerospace, electronic components, and information technology. The company was founded in 1953 and was named after inventor Charles Litton Sr., who was ...
, a subsidiary acquired by Northrop Grumman in 2000, had provided portions of
source code In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer. Since a computer, at base, only ...
used by guidance and navigation system interfaces aboard
Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control-designated Aviation call signs, call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modifie ...
to a company in Russia in 1998. Northrop Grumman agreed to pay a $15 million fine for 110 violations, occurring between September 1998 and November 1998, of the
Arms Export Control Act The Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (Title II of , codified at ) gives the President of the United States the authority to control the import and export of defense articles and defense services. The H.R. 13680 legislation was passed by the 94th ...
and the
International Traffic in Arms Regulations International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) is a set of U.S. Department of State regulations that control the export of defense and military technologies to safeguard national security and further its foreign policy objectives. Overvi ...
(ITAR). Additionally, documents filed by the State Department state that between 1994 and 2003, Northrop Grumman failed to notify the U.S. State Department about the computer guidance systems also being transferred to
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
and
Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
.Ryan, Jason
"Air Force One Guidance Systems Allegedly Sent to Russia."
''
ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...
'', April 18, 2008.


See also

* IMETS *
Northrop Grumman RQ-180 The Northrop Grumman RQ-180 is an American Stealth aircraft, stealth unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surveillance aircraft intended for contested airspace. , there had been no images or statements released, but evidence points to the existence o ...
Unmanned Aircraft System * Top 100 contractors of the U.S. federal government – $30.1 billion in FY2018


References


Notes


Bibliography

* Parker, Dana T. ''Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II''. Cypress, California: Dana T. Parker Books, 2013. .


Further reading


Interview with Northrop Grumman CEO, Feb 12, 2006.


External links

* *
Northrop Grumman Corporation
– recipient profile on
USAspending.gov USAspending.gov is a database of spending by the United States federal government. History Around the time of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006's passage, OMB Watch, a government watchdog group, was developing a ...
* {{Authority control Aerospace companies of the United States Aircraft manufacturers of the United States American entities subject to Chinese sanctions Defense companies of the United States Electronics companies of the United States Engineering companies of the United States Shipbuilding companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Virginia Companies based in Fairfax County, Virginia Unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturers American companies established in 1994 Electronics companies established in 1994 Manufacturing companies established in 1994 Technology companies established in 1994 1994 establishments in Virginia Manufacturing companies based in Los Angeles Technology companies based in Greater Los Angeles Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Collier Trophy recipients