Northrop Grumman joints Lockheed Martin on JSF

Northrop Grumman Corp. is joining the Lockheed Martin Corp. team to design a new Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Lockheed Martin is in a head-to-head competition with The Boeing Co. of Seattle to design and build the JSF. Northrop Grumman experts will concentrate on aircraft systems integration, supporting low-observable aircraft design, avionics systems, integration, sensors, advanced commercial manufacturing processes, and aircraft carrier suitability. Lockheed Martin`s addition of Northrop Grumman, on a subcontractor level, pits two companies that have cooperated successfully over the past two decades. Northrop Grumman and McDonnell Douglas work together to produce the U.S. Navy F/A-18 fighter-bomber. McDonnell Douglas is merging with Boeing. - J.K.