Northrop Grumman formally closed its $9.2 billion acquisition of Orbital ATK on 6 June, folding the company into its fourth business sector, a newly created unit called Innovation Systems.
Northrop Grumman’s board of directors elected Blake Larson, previously chief operating officer of Orbital ATK, as corporate vice-president and president of Innovation Systems. He will report to Kathy Warden, the company’s president and chief operating officer.
Aerospace firm Orbital ATK manufacturers a number of different rockets, rocket engines and spacecraft such as satellites and the Cygnus cargo spaceship used to resupply the International Space Station.
The company supplies its AGM-88E advanced anti-radiation guided missile, and the extended range version of the weapon, to the US Navy, Marine Corps and Italian Air Force.
The deal to acquire Orbital ATK was first announced in September 2017 and had been awaiting approval from the Federal Trade Commission.
The deal was approved by the FTC on 5 June after Northrop Grumman agreed to supply solid rocket motors to competitors on a non-discriminatory basis, a measure the government regulator insisted would be needed to maintain competitiveness in the marketplace. The proposed settlement also requires Northrop to separate the operation of its solid rocket motors business from the rest of the company’s operations with a firewall.
flightglobal.com