Northrop Grumman

A manufacturing process change that will allow Northrop Grumman to reduce risk, increase production rates, and set the foundation for expanded production numbers of the B-21 stealth bomber beyond current plans helped lead to a $397 million after-tax loss on the Air Force program in the first quarter, the company said on Tuesday. The manufacturing […]

Northrop Grumman expects its B-21 stealth bomber and the Sentinel next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile “to be less than 10 percent of sales in the company, but continuing to gradually increase from ’24 into ’25,” CEO Kathy Warden said in a quarterly earnings call last week. Northrop Grumman introduced guidance for 2025, with sales projected to […]

ARLINGTON, VA. — The Northrop Grumman-led Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program likely will get an updated cost and scheduled estimate in 1.5 to two years, an Air Force civilian official said at an industry conference here this week. The service announced in January that Sentinel had shattered projections put together in 2020 for the program’s […]

WASHINGTON — Modernization of U.S. nuclear weapons and delivery systems is moving too slowly and the Pentagon has heard about it, Nebraska’s senior U.S. senator said here Tuesday at a think tank. “When we’re in classified briefings and I hear from the military and the department, they give me dates on when things are going […]

WASHINGTON — Modernization of U.S. nuclear weapons and delivery systems is moving too slowly and the Pentagon has heard about it, Nebraska’s senior U.S. senator said here Tuesday at a think tank. “When we’re in classified briefings and I hear from the military and the department, they give me dates on when things are going […]

Several recent tests of the Air Force’s land-based, LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif., reflect “significant progress” in the weapon’s engineering, manufacturing and development phase, missile prime Northrop Grumman said Tuesday. “Forward and aft sections of a Sentinel ICBM [intercontinental ballistic missile ] missile were evaluated through a […]

Lockheed Martin wants to build solid rocket motors to compete with the military’s two current main suppliers,  Northrop Grumman’s Orbital ATK and L3Harris’ Aerojet Rocketdyne. “We are endeavoring as a defense company to create another supplier,” James Taiclet, the president of Lockheed Martin, testified at a Sept. 20 hearing of the House Armed Services Committee’s […]

Northrop Grumman recently completed the first full-scale static test of an LGM-35A Sentinel solid rocket motor at its test facility in Promontory, Utah, marking yet another milestone on the road to potentially flying an example of the next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile later this year. In partnership with the U.S. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, the […]

Conversion of 400 LGM-30 Minuteman III ICBM silos to accommodate Northrop Grumman’s Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missiles will draw lessons from recent work by the company’s team in Utah. Parsons Corp., an original designer of the Minuteman silos, is a subcontractor to Northrop Grumman on the conversion of the Minuteman III silos for the Sentinel program. […]

Northrop Grumman’s 2021 revenue showed a $1-billion bump from the ramp-up of the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent nuclear-tipped, intercontinental ballistic missile program, the company reported this week in its latest annual 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. On the whole, the sale of the company’s IT business in February depressed sales and earnings, […]

The prime contractor for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrence wrapped up a key review for the program and set a cost and schedule baseline for the Air Force’s next-generation, nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile. Northrop Grumman, which holds a $13 billion Air Force engineering and manufacturing development contract to build the first tranche of Ground Based […]

Northrop Grumman “successfully conducted its first major design review” for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent engineering and manufacturing development baseline last November, the company announced Tuesday. Northrop touted the milestone as the new Joe Biden administration prepares its first federal budget request and Congress continues its work confirming Biden’s nominees to top Pentagon posts. A […]

Bolstered by generally solid results across its operating segments, Northrop Grumman on Thursday reported higher sales and earnings in its second quarter and the company raised its outlook for the top and bottom lines for 2020. in a quarterly call with investors, Kathy Warden, the company’s chairman, president, and chief executive officer, said the company […]

It will take a couple more weeks than earlier thought to certify it is time to begin constructing a new calciner in Building 9212 of the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee: the U.S. defense-uranium hub that manufactures the secondary stages for nuclear weapons. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) “anticipates approval of the Y-12 […]

The Air Force probably will not award a contract to build next-generation, silo-based intercontinental ballistic missiles more than a month or two earlier than planned, the chief executive of presumptive prime Northrop Grumman said Wednesday morning during a conference call with investors. That would put the award around July or August. Northrop looks like a […]

The Air Force probably will not award a contract to build more than 600 next-generation, silo-based intercontinental ballistic missiles more than a month or two earlier than planned, the chief executive of presumptive prime Northrop Grumman said Wednesday morning during a conference call with investors. That would put the award around July or August. Northrop […]

Not much sooner than Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette provided the guidance for doing so, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) added language to its prime contracts for major nuclear-weapon sites for billing the government for paid time off given to workers who couldn’t do their job because of COVID-19. The agency had not posted […]

There is at least one confirmed case of COVID-19 among the workforce of the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, where the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) assembles and disassembles nuclear weapons for maintenance and modernization. In a statement, Pantex said the employee became ill at work on March 25. The site said it did not […]

On top of the $6.5 billion required to build the Uranium Processing Facility by 2026, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will have to spend nearly $1 billion to modernize other facilities needed to support the next-generation weapon-uranium hub, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The spending figure comes from an integrated master schedule […]

By Calvin Biesecker Defense Daily Northrop Grumman on Thursday said it can’t currently predict the impact on its business from the COVID-19 pandemic but warned investors of potential increased borrowing costs and of potential disruptions to its customers and operations. In addition to higher capital costs and limits to capital, the company warned that “If […]

On top of the $6.5 billion required to build the Uranium Processing Facility by 2026, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will have to spend nearly $1 billion to modernize other facilities needed to support the next generation weapon-uranium hub, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The spending figure comes from an integrated master […]

Northrop Grumman tapped Bechtel National and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to provide construction services and specialized transportation equipment for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) intercontinental ballistic missile production program the aerospace giant hopes to win this summer. Northrop Grumman is the only bidder for the estimated $25 billion engineering and manufacturing development contract to […]

Northrop Grumman on Wednesday said its board has elected David Keffer as its new chief financial officer effective Feb. 17. He succeeds Kenneth Bedingfield, who will remain with the company until Feb. 21 to help with the transition. Keffer comes to Northrop Grumman from the private equity firm Blue Delta Capital Partners, which he joined in 2018 […]

Northrop Grumman on Wednesday said its board has elected David Keffer as its new chief financial officer effective Feb. 17. He succeeds Kenneth Bedingfield, who will remain with the company until Feb. 21 to help with the transition. Keffer comes to Northrop Grumman from the private equity firm Blue Delta Capital Partners, which he joined in 2018 […]

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is revising its plan to implement recommendations the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board made this year about the Pantex nuclear-weapon servicing plant in Texas. “The Department of Energy has accepted the need to revise and update our implementation plan,” James McConnell, NNSA associate administrator for safety, infrastructure, and […]

Northrop Grumman is officially the only company to bid on the potentially $25 billion contract to build and deploy the U.S. Air Force’s Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) intercontinental ballistic missiles. The company confirmed Friday, at the deadline to submit bids, that it put in an offer with the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center. Boeing, the […]

The U.S. Air Force is still sticking to its plan to build 100 B-21 Raider strategic bombers, but if it does need to procure more, it should be able to boost production without renegotiating the contract with Northrop Grumman, Air Force Materiel Command Chief Gen. Arnold Bunch told reporters recently. “We’ve got the contract structured […]

By Calvin Biesecker A review initiated this month by antitrust regulators into Northrop Grumman’s compliance with terms of the government’s approval last year of the acquisition of Orbital ATK isn’t expected to impact the Air Force’s acquisition plans for a new strategic nuclear missile system, the company’s top executive said Thursday. Northrop Grumman, in its third-quarter […]

The U.S. Air Force has pulled the plug nearly a year early on Boeing’s contract to mature technology for the next generation of silo-based, nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, the company said this week.  This is another setback for the incumbent on the current Minuteman III missile fleet, which hoped the remaining year or so of […]

Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord on Friday defended the Air Force’s request for proposals for the forthcoming contract for production of the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent intercontinental ballistic missiles. Lord called the document a “well-written RFP that will give us the insight we need” with regard to cost and pricing for replacing […]