Military

Northrop Grumman Wins Stealth Bomber Contract Worth Up to $9.9 Billion

The Department of Defense awarded 19 defense contracts in its Tuesday evening announcement of contract awards, with a total value of $10.46 billion, including one contract making up 95% of the total value.

This mega-contract, easily the most significant award of the day, went to defense contractor Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), builder of the B-2 Spirit bomber, better known as the B-2 Stealth Bomber.

Valued at up to $9.9 billion, Northrop’s award took the form of an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity Flexible Acquisition Sustainment Team (FAST) II contract to modernize and support the Air Force’s B-2 Stealth Bombers. According to data from the 2014 edition of Flightglobal Insight, the U.S. currently has 19 B-2 bombers in active service, all operating with the U.S. Air Force. Military aviation website Deagel.com puts the average purchase cost of each Stealth Bomber at $1.4 billion.

Under this contract, Northrop will make upgrades to the Stealth Bomber fleet, perform engineering work and software and hardware maintenance, and provide support equipment. These funds cover work to be performed by Northrop through May 2, 2019. After that, the Air Force has the option of ordering additional work for additional funds, and if this option is exercised, Northrop’s contract could continue in force through May 2, 2024.

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