Kathy Warden: Northrop Expands Portfolio Into Hypersonics Through Innovation Systems Business

Kathy Warden, president and chief operating officer of Northrop Grumman, has said the company considers hypersonic missiles as a promising business line, USNI News reported Saturday.

Warden, a three-time Wash100 recipient, told analysts at a conference call that Northrop’s innovation systems business, formerly Orbital ATK, expands the defense contractor’s portfolio of products into hypersonics.

“We have traditionally been counter hypersonics, but [Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems] expands us into weapons systems,” said Warden, who is set to succeed Wes Bush as Northrop CEO in January 2019.

“This significantly expands our portfolio of offerings to our customers,” she added.

The report said the expansion of Northrop and other contractors into the hypersonics market is driven by the call of the Defense Department and Congress for the defense industry to build hypersonic weapons as countries such as Russia and China work on the new weapons technology.