Posted on 09/18/2017 6:56:50 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Falls Church-based Northrop said it would pay $7.8 billion in cash, while assuming $1.4 billion in debt.
...
Northrop is one of the Pentagon’s leading suppliers, and is developing its B-21 stealth bomber. Orbital ATK, an aerospace manufacturer based in Dulles, holds a contract with NASA to resupply the International Space Station. It also builds the motors for several missile systems, as well as commercial and national security satellites.
The acquisition would mark a bold move for Northrop that would establish the new venture as a fourth business sector. It comes as the company was seeking to bolster its space and missile defense systems at a time of increasing tension with potential adversaries around the world.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Sweet!
One of my best investment picks over the last several years. Too bad its a cash deal and not a stock deal.
This frosts me!
A little inside baseball.
DOD didn’t like the technology monopoly held by the bigs like Lockheed.
So, in new satellite technology competition they’d “level the playing field” and share competitive advancements with the little guys, and then award the contract to “the little guy”.
Now another “big” NG, is benefiting from that “shared” advantage.
The result is more expensive systems, poor schedule performance, and less technically capable systems, due to poor execution and integration.
Exactly. This is not good news either for the taxpayers or for those who want innovation, quality and cost effectiveness in defense hardware. It is just another example of how utterly broken the defense acquisition process is.
I have seen plenty of examples of contracts going to small companies in order to meet congressionally mandated quotes and then the small company being unable to perform.
There is no simple solution to the acquisition system. A lot of the issues stem from the military having little concept of how development works and adding all sorts of ridiculous ‘addons’. Go watch the Pentagon Wars and you will notice all the contractor did was say, “WTF? Ok sure we can build whatever you want.” It was the military customer that could not figure out what the heck they wanted the system to be.
I work for a company that is smaller, more agile and innovative. But it is awfully hard to do those things when customers can’t make up their minds and the contractor can’t tell them ‘no, we can’t do that for free, or to that schedule.’
I am tired of contractor companies getting the rap for everything being so messed up. We make whatever the military asks for, following the processes and procedures they insist on while meeting the legal requirements congress levies on us. That is it. Doing all those things mean we pat our head and rub our tummy while dancing on a flaming tight rope and singing the national anthem. Don’t blame us. We do what we are told and try to make money doing it.
The ATK side of the company makes ammunition in addition to rocket motors. Anyone heard anything about that part of the deal?
Look, I agree. the Defense Acquisition process is a process owned by the DOD. I am not blaming private companies here, though there is plenty of blame, greed and crony profiteering to go around.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.