Northrop Grumman

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

Demand for all sorts of missiles—from air defense interceptors to deep-strike weapons—is starting to flow through to the earnings of major defense companies.

The U.S. Space Force has identified the 12 companies currently on contract to develop space-based interceptors ahead of a planned 2028 demonstration.

Aircraft procurement would more than double for the Navy under the new Pentagon spending plan.

Northrop Grumman is moving as “expeditiously as possible” to get a new radar system for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter into customers' hands, CEO Kathy Warden said on a company earnings call.

Northrop Grumman says a previously undisclosed company-owned test aircraft has been sold to the USAF as part of a B-21 Raider production acceleration pact.

A member of the PW500 turbofan family is selected for Northrop’s self-funded, single-engine CCA design, the company said.

A funding boost allows the U.S. Missile Defense Agency to accelerate the Glide Phase Interceptor program from 2035 to 2031.

Air refueling testing has begun for the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider, the U.S. Air Force said late April 14.

A new White House initiative to develop space nuclear power directs NASA to develop a minimum 20 kW fission reactor and fly a variant to the lunar surface by 2030,

A long-range, surface-to-surface ballistic missile for the U.S. Army will be recompeted.

Bahraini F-16 Block 70 achieves first air-to-air kill, intercepting Iranian drones amid regional tensions and missile attacks.

The U.S. Space Force has picked 14 vendors to build space domain awareness satellites over the next decade for a new constellation in geosynchronous orbit.

Northrop Grumman plans to test a new nozzle for the Graphite Epoxy Motors (GEM) used on United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan and Atlas rockets.

Northrop Grumman completed a new right of passage for aspiring Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) producers.

An unidentified flying-wing uncrewed aircraft system was photographed and videoed at low altitude near Larissa Air Base, Greece, on March 18.

A U.S. Space Force program to boost the capacity of military satellite communications in Arctic regions has been operationally accepted.

Contrails and their effects—cited by scientists as the main source of non-CO2 climate emissions—are notoriously difficult to characterize and measure.

Northrop Grumman's CRS-23 was unberthed from the Earth-facing port of the International Space Station's U.S. segment Unity module early March 12.

Leaders of seven top defense firms in a meeting with President Donald Trump appeared to reaffirm agreements to increase production of in-demand munitions.

Boost-phase missile defense challenges the historic model for space-based interceptors, but a startup is proposing a possible thrust-based solution.

Air Force Global Strike Command conducted its latest test of an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM on March 4.

The U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman are investing in a B-21 capacity increase as the Sentinel program faces decision points.

NASA is expected to soon disclose the next steps in its evolving strategy to develop commercial low Earth orbit successors to the International Space Station.

The U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman have reached an agreement to increase production capacity of the B-21.