Space and missile specialist Orbital ATK will be acquired by Northrop Grumman under a $9.2 billion agreement announced on 18 September.
The proposed deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter next year pending reviews, would deepen Northrop’s portfolio of large space systems with Orbital ATK’s focus on small launchers and satellites, as well as the latter’s terrestrial rocket and missile technology, including the AGM-88 advanced anti-radiation guided missile.
“There are a number of mission areas where the fit is exceptionally good,” says Northrop chairman, chief executive and president Wes Bush.
As part of Northrop, Orbital ATK would function initially as a fourth business sector, alongside Aerospace Systems, Mission Systems and Technical Services.
The deal, if approved, would expand Northrop only two years after some analysts expected the company would be acquired by either Lockheed Martin or Boeing as a result of the Long Range Strike-Bomber competition. Northrop defeated a joint bid offer by Boeing and Lockheed to win the B-21 development and production deal, re-energising its combat aircraft business.
Northrop is working on the XS-1 Spaceplane for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a satellite launch capabililty, but its space business is focused on building and operating highly sophisticated military and science satellites. The addition of Orbital ATK will give Northrop a capability to launch small and medium-sized space payloads.
Future military space needs will “require a combination of different types of capabilities”, Bush says. “We bring a broader spectrum of those capabilities by being together.”
The deal also creates some over-lapping capabilities. Northrop has developed advanced composite structures for military aircraft, such as the fuselage of the B-2 bomber and Lockheed Martin F-35. Orbital ATK, meanwhile, operates a plant in Utah that produces composite structures for commercial aircraft, such as the Boeing 787.
Asked by analysts in a teleconference call about a potential spin-off of Orbital ATK’s composite business, Bush indicates the capability could be a good fit within Northrop.
“The composite business is a really important business,” he says. “We see a very complementary fit here.”
Source: FlightGlobal.com
