The story
Leroy R. Grumman established the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation in December 1929 on Long Island, New York. By 1939, the company had expanded and relocated to Bethpage, New York. Among Grumman's well known naval aviation products was the F-14 Tomcat. During World War II the company built most US Navy aircraft, including the TBF Avenger, F4F Wildcat, and F6F Hellcat. After the war it branched out into making the first aluminum canoes using left-over materials no longer needed for aircraft. Later the firm created a myriad of products such as ballistic missiles, all-weather radars, the Apollo Lunar Module, land and sea-based fighter aircraft and Stealth bombers.
Founded in California in 1939 by Jack Northrop, the Northrop Corporation was reincorporated in Delaware in 1985. Northrop made a series of lightweight fighter aircraft such as the F-5, YF-17, and F-20. 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, paved the way for the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber, on which Northrop was the prime contractor. During World War II, Northrop made the P-61 Black Widow, the first aircraft designed as a night fighter. After the end of the Cold War, Northrop made a series of acquisitions, buying Grumman Aerospace, Westinghouse and TRW Inc. in addition to a number of other enterprises.
In 2018, Northrop Grumman completed the purchase of Orbital ATK, which was renamed to Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. Innovation Systems was integrated into other parts of the business in a reorganization the following year.
1990s
In 1994, Northrop Aircraft bought Grumman Aerospace, which built the Apollo Lunar Module, to create Northrop Grumman (NG) at a cost of $2.1 billion. After 1994, Northrop Grumman made several major acquisitions, including Vought, Logicon, Xetron Corporation, the defense electronics business of Westinghouse Electronic Systems, and Ryan Aeronautical.
Northrop has competed in the Advanced Tactical Fighter program, submitting the YF-23 to compete against the F-22 Raptor in 1991.
Northrop 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 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. 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.
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In 2001, the company acquired Litton Industries, a shipbuilder and defense electronics systems provider for the U.S. Navy. 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, Northrop Grumman acquired Newport News Shipbuilding.
In 2002, Northrop Grumman acquired TRW Inc. Northrop incorporated TRW's space and laser capabilities and system manufacturing infrastructure into its newly created Space Technology sector based in Redondo Beach, California (Space Park), and the Mission Systems sector based in Reston, Virginia.
In July 2003, the company received a $48 million contract to train the Iraqi Army.
In August 2005, the United Kingdom paid $1.2 billion in a contract with the company to provide maintenance of its AWACS radar.
In November 2005, the company won a $2 billion contract with Virginia to overhaul most of the state's IT operations.
On January 1, 2006, Northrop Grumman opened its business sector called 'Technical Services'. Northrop Grumman and Boeing collaborated on a design concept for NASA's upcoming Orion spacecraft (previously the Crew Exploration Vehicle), but the contract went to rival Lockheed Martin on August 31, 2006.
In 2006, Northrop Grumman had intended to bid for the U.S. Air Force's Next-Generation Bomber. 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". 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, and in October 2015 won that contract.
On July 20, 2007, Northrop Grumman became the sole owner of Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites.
In 2007, Northrop Grumman created 'National Workforce Centers' as an alternative to offshoring. Locations are Auburn, Alabama; Corsicana, Texas; Fairmont, West Virginia; Helena, Montana; Johnstown, Pennsylvania; and Lebanon, Virginia. The Rapid City, South Dakota location closed in January 2012.
In August 2007, Northrop Grumman acquired Scaled Composites in which it had previously owned a 40% stake.
In June 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.
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 2003 aircraft crash in the Colombian jungle. The fourth employee, Tom Janis, had been killed by the FARC shortly after the crash.
2010s
In March 2011, Northrop Grumman spun off its Shipbuilding unit as Huntington Ingalls Industries.
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 virtual-training network.
In 2015, Northrop Grumman won a contract for the DARPA Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN) program.
In March 2015, the company delivered the first shipset for Australian EA-18G Growler.
In October 2015, the US Military awarded Northrop Grumman the contract for the successor to the B-1 and B-52, 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 the acquisition of missile and rocket manufacturer Orbital ATK 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.
In January 2018, Northrop Grumman became the primary contractor for the James Webb Space Telescope.
On June 7, 2018, the acquisition of Orbital ATK was completed, and it was absorbed in Northrop Grumman as a new business sector called Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems.
2020s
Effective January 1, 2020, the NGIS division was split, with most of the sector merging with other Northrop Grumman businesses into a new Space Systems sector.
In June 2020, NASA granted a $935 million contract to Northrop Grumman for the Lunar Gateway 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 ended development of the OmegA space launch vehicle, intended to carry the U.S. government's national security satellites into space.
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.
In February 2021, Northrop sold its federal IT and mission support business to Veritas Capital for $3.4 billion.
In March 2021, NASA awarded Northrop Grumman the contract to develop the Mars Ascent Propulsion System for a Mars sample-return mission. Northrop designed a solid-fueled rocket to launch samples collected by the Perseverance rover from Mars 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 in partnership with Texas-based Firefly Aerospace. Northrop Grumman and Firefly Aerospace are jointly producing an upgraded version of the Antares rocket, the Antares 330.
Northrop Grumman's B-21 Raider entered test flights in 2023, with the goal of delivering the first plane by the end of the decade.
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 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 (MDA) competition to develop and build the Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI). In 2025, the company secured a contract with the U.S. Space Force to test in-space satellite refueling technology Northrop developed. Northrop Grumman is also constructing ground stations to support the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared program. In May 2025, the company invested $50 million in space startup Firefly to support production of their "Eclipse" rocket.
From Wikipedia’s article on Northrop Grumman, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.8