Kathy Warden: Northrop Invests in Digital Engineering for Air Force GBSD Missile Program

Kathy Warden, the chairman, president and CEO of Northrop Grumman and a 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, said the company is leveraging digital manufacturing technologies for U.S. Air Force missile programs, Defense News reported Tuesday.

Warden noted at the company’s recent earnings call that Northrop is applying to its entire portfolio the manufacturing investments made for the Air Force’s Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program, which is focused on deploying a more advanced version of the intercontinental ballistic missile.

She added that Northrop used digital engineering concepts for the risk-reduction and technical maturation phase of the GBSD effort.

“This is the first time on a program of this size where that’s been the case,” said Warden.

Dave Keffer, CFO of Northrop, told investors that classified agreements also accounted for a 5 percent increase in sales from 2019.

Kenneth Possenriede, chief financial officer of Lockheed Martin, said at the company's earnings call that its aeronautics business secured a classified award that would require a new facility in Palmdale, California. 

The division saw an 8 percent increase in sales from 2019, he noted.

A Boeing spokesman told Defense News that the company predicts a $2.6T market for space and defense over the next decade.