In another step toward first flight, the initial B-21 Raider has had its first “power-on” test, Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden announced. The company still expects first flight—and a contract for low-rate initial production—by the end of 2023, she said in the company's second quarter ...
Northrop Grumman has tested a new GPS/INS navigation system that works in GPS-jammed or -denied airspace. The system will make its way onto the F-22 and the Navy E-2D after testing is complete.
The Air Force kicked off the process for selecting the contractor for its Next Generation Air Dominance fighter on May 18, releasing a classified solicitation to industry for Engineering and Manufacturing Development. In a release, the service said it hopes to award a contract by 2024.
As the Air Force embarks on what is likely to be a lengthy process of developing the Next Generation Air Refueling System (NGAS) to help recapitalize its aerial refueling fleet, the service is placing more and more of a “premium on survivability” for future tankers, ...
Australia says it won’t buy the B-21 bomber, but Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden said it may still be “on the table” when the program is more mature. Warden also reiterated that the new bomber will fly this year.
The Space Force is opening up its competition for rocket launches with a “dual-lane approach,” according to a new draft request for proposals (RFP) from industry—potentially giving smaller companies more opportunities. Late Feb. 16, the service released the draft RFP and announced it would be hosting ...
DARPA and the Air Force conducted the final test of their scramjet-powered Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) missile, DARPA announced Jan. 30, and said the program’s “findings will now be used in follow-on efforts.” The Air Force is moving forward with two hypersonic weapons—the AGM-183 Air-Launched ...
Inflation threatens Northrop Grumman's profits on the B-21 bomber program, as the program moves from development to production, company officials said on their quarterly earnings call. The program remains below cost and on schedule, though, they said.
Northrop Grumman has revealed that it is developing a new radar for the F-35 fighter, called the AN/APG-85. The new radar will be installed on some F-35s in Lot 17, options for which were set by Lockheed Martin and the Joint Program Office last week. ...
The Air Force deployed a brand new version of one of its prized communications aircraft to Saudi Arabia, the service said in a Jan. 2 news release. An E-11A equipped with a Battlefield Airborne Communication Node, or BACN, arrived at Prince Sultan Air Base in ...
The unveiling of the new B-21 bomber was staged to keep many of its innovations under wraps, but more than 34 years of technological advances since the B-2’s 1988 rollout were clearly in evidence. Although a senior Northrop Grumman official said the majority of what ...
These are the complete remarks by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III at the Reagan National Defense Forum, Dec. 3, 2022, in Simi Valley, Calif.