Kathy Warden, the CEO of Northrop, didn’t dismiss the possibility of collaborating as a secondary partner on the Air Force’s NGAD. She also expressed continued interest in contributing to the Navy’s next-generation fighter.

The Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program envisions different types of drones teamed with a sixth-generation fighter. (Northrop Grumman)

Northrop Grumman’s CEO, Kathy Warden, revealed that the company is not vying to be the main contractor for the US Air Force’s Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. However, she indicated that Northrop remains interested in participating in the Navy’s sixth-generation fighter program, which is further down the line. Despite not competing for the prime contractor role in NGAD, Northrop is open to responding to other bidders’ requests for proposals as a supplier in their mission system portfolio. The company aims to pursue programs where it feels well-positioned and where the business deal offers a balanced risk and reward for both the customer and the industrial base. The decision not to bid for NGAD does not impact Northrop’s path to sales, as it already has a strong backlog in the aerospace division and is pursuing other opportunities in military aircraft. The CEO left the possibility of participating in the Navy’s F/A-XX effort open, depending on their positioning and the government’s risk-reward balance. The Air Force is set to select a contractor for NGAD in 2024, and while only two companies were actively involved in NGAD at the time, more vendors could potentially join the competition. (7th-grade readability)