Northrop Grumman Withdraws from NGAD Fighter Program

Northrop Grumman made the decision to quit participating in the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) sixth-generation fighter programme of the United States Air Force.

Although Northrop Grumman would not compete as a prime contractor for the USAF’s NGAD programme, Kathy Warden, CEO of Northrop Grumman, made it clear that the company might work with one of the remaining bidders as a supplier for their mission systems portfolio.

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In a post-earnings conference call with investors, Kathy Warden, chief executive officer of Northrop, said, “We have informed the U.S. Air Force that we’re not planning to respond to the NGAD RFP as a prime.”

Despite avoiding the topic of the new fighter aircraft competition, Northrop claimed that the Indo-Pacific conflict and the Ukraine conflict have forced these countries’ militaries to spend more money.

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In an interview with Reuters, the CFO of Dave Keffer Northrop stated that “there is strong demand throughout Europe.” Eight potential new customers visited us to see a demonstration of our IBCS capabilities, which include our highly sought-after integrated combat management system.

A contractor for NGAD will be chosen by the Air Force in 2024, the service branch stated in mid-May. As a replacement for the F-22 air-to-air fighter, the NGAD will “include attributes such as enhanced lethality and the abilities to survive, persist, interoperate, and adapt in the air domain, all within highly-contested operational environments,” according to a service statement.