Pentagon Contracts

Anduril Wins Air Force Contract for Autonomous Fighter Jet Program

| Importance: 9/10

The U.S. Air Force selected Anduril Industries and General Atomics to develop Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) autonomous fighter jets, beating defense giants Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Boeing. The CCA program aims to deliver at least 1,000 unmanned combat aircraft equipped with …

Anduril Industries U.S. Air Force Department of Defense Palmer Luckey General Atomics Autonomous Weapons Military-Industrial Complex AI Weapons Defense Contractors Pentagon Contracts
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Northrop Grumman Wins $13.3 Billion Contract for Ground Based Strategic Deterrent Nuclear ICBMs

| Importance: 10/10

The Department of the Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman a $13.3 billion contract on September 8, 2020, to develop the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent intercontinental ballistic missile system, initiating the engineering and manufacturing development phase of a program estimated to cost between …

Northrop Grumman U.S. Air Force Department of Defense Boeing Orbital ATK Military-Industrial Complex Defense Contractors Nuclear Weapons Pentagon Contracts ICBMs +1 more
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Northrop Grumman Pays $31.65 Million for Fraudulent Overbilling of Air Force Contracts

| Importance: 8/10

Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation agreed to pay $31.65 million to settle civil and criminal charges for systematically defrauding the U.S. Air Force by overbilling labor hours on battlefield communications contracts between January 2011 and October 2013. The settlement included $27.45 million for …

Northrop Grumman Department of Justice U.S. Air Force Defense Criminal Investigative Service FBI +1 more Defense Contractors Fraud Military-Industrial Complex False Claims Act Pentagon Contracts +2 more
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Northrop Grumman Wins $217 Million Cyber Warfare Contract for Unified Platform

| Importance: 8/10

Northrop Grumman received a contract as part of a potential $217 million five-year U.S. military cyber warfare program called Unified Platform, which aims to develop a coordinated cyber weapons infrastructure enabling U.S. Cyber Command to conduct offensive and defensive cyber operations independent …

Northrop Grumman U.S. Cyber Command National Security Agency Department of Defense Cyber Weapons Surveillance State Military-Industrial Complex Defense Contractors NSA +2 more
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Northrop Grumman Acquires Orbital ATK for $9.2 Billion, Creating Solid Rocket Motor Monopoly

| Importance: 9/10

Northrop Grumman completed its $9.2 billion acquisition of Orbital ATK on June 6, 2018, gaining control of the premier supplier of solid rocket motors essential for missile systems and creating anticompetitive market dominance that the Federal Trade Commission warned would “reduce competition …

Northrop Grumman Orbital ATK Federal Trade Commission Department of Defense Boeing Military-Industrial Complex Defense Contractors Monopoly Power Mergers and Acquisitions Antitrust +2 more
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Former Air Force Chief of Staff Mark Welsh Joins Northrop Grumman Board After B-21 Bomber Contract Award

| Importance: 9/10

Retired General Mark Welsh joined Northrop Grumman’s board of directors just five months after retiring as Air Force Chief of Staff and barely one year after the company won the $21.4 billion initial contract to build the B-21 Raider next-generation stealth bomber, exemplifying the revolving …

Mark Welsh Northrop Grumman U.S. Air Force Wes Bush Donald Trump Revolving Door Military-Industrial Complex Defense Contractors Corruption Pentagon Contracts +2 more
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Northrop Grumman Wins $80 Billion B-21 Raider Stealth Bomber Contract

| Importance: 10/10

The U.S. Defense Department awarded Northrop Grumman a development contract for the B-21 Raider Long Range Strike Bomber on October 27, 2015, with an initial value of $21.4 billion that could eventually reach $80 billion over the program’s lifetime, representing one of the largest defense …

Northrop Grumman U.S. Air Force Department of Defense Boeing Lockheed Martin +1 more Military-Industrial Complex Defense Contractors Pentagon Contracts Stealth Technology Nuclear Weapons +1 more
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Northrop Grumman Pays $11.4 Million for Illegally Billing Executive Compensation to Federal Contracts

| Importance: 8/10

Northrop Grumman Corporation paid the United States $11.4 million to settle government claims that it violated a 2002 settlement agreement with the Defense Contract Management Agency by improperly charging federal contracts for deferred compensation awards to key executives, demonstrating how …

Northrop Grumman Department of Justice Defense Contract Management Agency Defense Contract Audit Agency Defense Contractors Fraud False Claims Act Executive Compensation Contractor Abuse +2 more
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Northrop Grumman Global Hawk Drone Costs Surge to $222 Million Per Aircraft

| Importance: 8/10

Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drone program experienced massive cost escalation, with per-unit costs exploding from an initial $60.9 million in 2001 to $222.7 million per aircraft (including development costs) by 2013—a nearly four-fold increase that forced the Air Force to …

Northrop Grumman U.S. Air Force Department of Defense Government Accountability Office Military-Industrial Complex Defense Contractors Cost Overruns Surveillance State Drone Warfare +2 more
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Northrop B-2 Bomber Operating Costs Reach $150,000 Per Flight Hour

| Importance: 8/10

The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber’s operating costs reached approximately $150,000 per flight hour according to U.S. Department of Defense estimates, making it the most expensive military aircraft to operate in history and generating massive ongoing revenue for Northrop Grumman …

Northrop Grumman U.S. Air Force Department of Defense Military-Industrial Complex Defense Contractors Cost Overruns Pentagon Contracts Stealth Technology +1 more
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Northrop Grumman B-2 Bomber Program Reaches $44 Billion Total Cost

| Importance: 9/10

The U.S. Air Force’s B-2 Spirit stealth bomber program, built by Northrop Grumman, reached a staggering total program cost of $44.389 billion in then-year dollars by 1997, according to Government Accountability Office reports. This represented a dramatic escalation from original estimates and …

Northrop Grumman U.S. Air Force Department of Defense U.S. Congress Government Accountability Office Military-Industrial Complex Defense Contractors Cost Overruns Pentagon Contracts Stealth Technology +1 more
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