A Legacy Like No Other 18

A Legacy Like No Other 18

NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2015

©2015 Northrop Grumman Corporation

FUTUREWHEN THE WORLD CALLS FOR THE

OUR YEARPERSPECTIVES

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This has been an incredible year. I am in awe of what we have accomplished together. What began as a year of LIMITLESS possibilities has concluded as one of amazing achievements. We have created a culture that thrives on innovation, invention and creativity. Our culture has fueled our success on so many levels, in countless domains.

We have ignited new ways of thinking — initiatives like Bust- ing Bureaucracy, NG NEXT, and NEST for ourselves, for our customers, for our future.

We have grown globally with successful captures in Japan and the Republic of Korea with franchise programs — the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye and the RQ-4 Global Hawk. We received notification of a sole source contract for AMP-2, completed the operational assessment of the MQ-8C Fire Scout, won two contracts in directed energy and demonstrated autonomous aerial refueling with an unmanned system — the incredible X-47B unmanned combat air system.

We made great progress across our broad space portfolio — making advances in Advanced EHF and remaining on track for a 2018 launch for the world’s

amazing time machine, the James Webb Space Telescope. Our Global Hawk team has made tremendous strides in operational performance shattering cost curves in the process, as well as collecting prestigious accolades along the way including the James Roche Sustainment Award — winning this for a record third time!

We celebrated top industry honors from Aviation Week’s Program Excellence awards for our Protected Satellite Communications Payloads Orbital Operations and the X-47B program teams.

We are shaping wins for the Joint STARS recapitalization, unmanned carrier-based strike system, and the Trainer-X programs, and launching new captures for the U.S. Air Force’s and U.S. Navy’s next generation fighters.

Our investment in basic and applied research will drive new technology advancements for future systems.

And, we won the contract for the nation’s critical new Long-Range Strike Bomber.

INSIDE AEROSPACE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

These are historic accomplishments. We embarked on this journey with a bold strategy. And, our strategy is working.

We are leaders — number one in Space, number one in Unmanned Systems and number two in Manned Aircraft. And we are continuing to innovate and invest for export to expand our global operations.

You are an amazingly gifted team. We have achieved what many thought impossible.

And think about this, we’ve only just begun.

Tom Vice Corporate Vice President and President, Northrop Grumman Aerospace SystemsCONTENTS

COVER STORY“Our team has the resources in place to execute this important program, and we’re ready to get to work.” —Wes Bush, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Northrop Grumman

Palmdale, Calif., home of the legendary B-2 stealth bomber, a key component of the nation’s long-range strike arsenal and one of the most survivable aircraft in the world.

5 PERSPECTIVES A View from Leadership

6 HEADLINES Northrop Grumman in the News

8 HERITAGE Milestones in Northrop Grumman History

10 PERFORMANCE Products and Program Updates

18 COVER STORY A Legacy Like No Other

20 INGENUITY IN ACTION Our Latest Innovative Solutions

22 ACROSS THE SECTOR

30 COMMUNITY You Make A Difference

HEADLINES

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Inside Aerospace © 2015 Northrop Grumman Corporation

All Rights Reserved. Printed in USA

Sector Vice President, Communications Cynthia Curiel

Director, Enterprise Communications Cyndi Wegerbauer

Manager, Employee Communications Ann Akutagawa

Executive Editor Kathy Ford

Managing Editor Linda Javier

Creative Director Adam Ugolnik

Art Director Antoinette Bing Zaté

Advertising Director Darrell Brock

Contributors Ann Carney, Tom Henson, Linda Javier,

Sally Koris, Brooks McKinney, TJ Ortega, Bonnie Poindexter, Alan Radecki,

Celina Ramirez, Mark Root

Editorial Board Jessica Burtness, Alex Evers, Steve Fisher,

Kathy Ford, Linda Javier, Sally Koris, Christina Thompson, Katherine Thompson,

Adam Ugolnik, Antoinette Bing Zaté

Inside Aerospace magazine is published for employees by Aerospace Systems Communications. Archives are available on the intranet. Please contact Kathy Ford ([email protected]) for permission to reprint, excerpt material, request additional copies, or to provide story ideas.

All photography courtesy of Northrop Grumman unless otherwise indicated.


The Palmdale Aircraft Integration Center of Excellence is the first aerospace manufacturer in the country to be a certified Zero Waste facility.

Photo by Alan Radecki

Palmdale First Zero Waste FacilityBeing the first in the nation to reach a goal designed to help the environment is quite an achievement. And that lofty challenge was recently met by the Palmdale Aircraft Integration Center of Excellence (CoE).

In September, the CoE was recognized at a ceremony by the United States Zero Waste Business Council for being the first aerospace manufacturer in the country to be a certified Zero Waste facility. By diverting 90 percent of its waste from landfill, incineration and the environment, the CoE took a strong stand and set an outstanding example.

Local public officials and media joined Palmdale, Calif., employ-ees at the ceremony, where Andy Reynolds, vice president, Manufacturing Operations and Palmdale site manager, was presented the Silver Zero Waste certification and plaque.

In accepting the award, Reynolds remarked, “We want to be good stewards of the environment. We realize the importance of that opportunity and responsibility.”

with more than 100 GHz capacity for personal communications.

“This is the best and most meaningful award among those I’ve received,” said Dr. Rao. “It was wonderful to have my wife by my side as I was honored in my birth country. It was also very special to reunite with classmates and inspiring professors whom I have not seen in 40 years since relocating to the United States.”

An originator and master innova-tor, Dr. Rao holds 44 U.S. patents related to satellite antennas, payloads and high-power test methods and has published 165 technical papers and three textbooks on his expertise. From television viewers and Internet users to soldiers on the battlefield, people around the world directly benefit from Dr. Rao’s technical innovations.

— Bonnie Poindexter

Petryszyn, Medalle Honored at SWE ConferenceTwo Northrop Grumman leaders, Mary Petryszyn and Katherine Medalle received awards in October at the annual conference

of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) held in Nashville, Tenn.

SWE awards recognize individuals who enhance the engineering profession through contributions to industry, education and the community.

Petryszyn, Aerospace Systems vice president, global strategy and mission solutions, received the Global Leadership Award for outstanding contributions in engineering and technical management in an international setting.

A fellow life member of SWE, Petryszyn serves on the SWE Corporate Partnership Council. In 2005, she received the SWE Upward Mobility Award for her contributions to the engineering field.

Medalle, Electronic Systems director of airborne tactical sensors product support, received an Emerging Leader award for her active engagement in engineering and outstanding technical accomplishments. She is responsible for international and domestic customer support and sustainment of a Northrop Grumman sensor providing mission critical support to customers.

— Mark Root

Protected Satcom, UCAS-D Win Aviation Week AwardsTwo Northrop Grumman programs—Protected Satellite Communications Payloads Orbital Operations and Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D)—received Program Excellence awards from Aviation Week in November. The awards celebrate the “best of the best programs” that are delivering results and finding new ways to be more innovative, efficient and better at delivering value to customers.

Northrop Grumman has built and sustained protected satellite communication payloads for more than 21 years. Collectively, the payloads have provided more than 750,000 hours of service with more than 99 percent availability in operational service.

The program is led by Peggy Paul, the first program manager in the history of the Aviation Week Program Excellence Awards to win twice. The magazine recognized Paul and the Defense Support Program team in 2007.

The U.S. Navy UCAS-D/Northrop Grumman team, led by program manager Pablo Gonzalez, won for performing the first ever autonomous aerial refueling of an unmanned aircraft demonstrating the system’s capability of extended range and endurance.

— Sally Koris and TJ Ortega

“Northrop Grumman is a great example of what type of impact we can make,” said Palmdale City Mayor Jim Ledford, “not only in our own neighborhoods, but for the environment.”

— Celina Ramirez

Rao Receives India’s Top Technology Award Dr. Sudhakar Rao, Northrop Grumman Fellow in Engineer-ing’s Electronics and Payloads directorate, was honored in September by the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunica-tion Engineers (IETE), India’s top professional society for the advancement of science and technology in electronics, telecommunication and informa-tion technology.

Dr. Rao received IETE’s prestigious Professor S.N. Mitra Memorial Award for his pioneering work throughout his career in multi-beam payload technology using high gain multiple spot beams for military and commercial communications satellites. Dr. Rao’s design, analysis and development methods power more than 65 communications satellites in use worldwide, including high capacity satellites

Dr. Sudhakar Rao wears the Professor S.N. Mitra memorial medal presented to him in India for his pioneering work in multi-beam payload technology.

Photo by Alex Evers

A LOOK BACK AT GRUMMAN ON LONG ISLANDBy Alan Radecki

President and CEO Wes Bush recently announced Northrop Grumman’s realignment of its operating sectors, which will move the legacy Grumman facility at Bethpage, Long Island, N.Y., from Aerospace Systems to the new Mission Systems sector in early 2016. Inside Aerospace would like to pay tribute to the legacy of these sites.

Although the Long Island presence of Grumman started at the begin-ning of 1930, the company hit its stride during World War II when a number of additional plants opened to handle the wartime workload.

HERITAGE1943

April 1937 saw Grumman, which had grown to 350 employees, arrive at its new home in Bethpage, Long Island, with the opening of Plant 1. Many of Grumman’s legendary aircraft, starting with the F-4F Wildcat, were born at this Bethpage plant.

The Amityville Plant 12 was home to the Grumman War Production Corps and specialized in parts to support the production of the F-4F Wildcat fighter.

The Babylon plant produced the wiring harnesses used in all of Grumman’s aircraft. The original caption for this photo reads, “A hundred women set up the electric wires for Grumman planes. They plot the path of every electric im- pulse right up to the trigger-switch. They are truly the women behind the man behind the gun.”

Grumman’s success led to rapid growth and the need for a bigger facility, and the abandoned Curtiss Airport at Valley Stream was ideal. Here, Grumman’s first retractable gear fighter, the JJ-1, was born.

A 1940’s aerial view looking northwest at the Grumman Bethpage airfield.

Photo courtesy of Paul Freeman, www.airfields-freeman.com

This set of color images from a 1943 Grumman calendar gives a rare glimpse into what it looked like during the

peak of Grumman’s wartime production.

THREE CENTS

329328 INSIDE AEROSPACE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

PERFORMANCE

3211INSIDE AEROSPACE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 20153210

Word spread quickly among the hundreds of employees on AEHF who are building the payloads and associated systems as well as among the alumni of Milstar, its predecessor program and earlier programs that built the sector’s MILSATCOM heritage and capabilities.

“Drawing on two generations of Milstar expertise, developing

The AEHF Flight 3 satellite being encapsulated for placement atop an Atlas V launch vehicle.

Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin

AEHF payloads has had a pro-found impact on the sector,” said Peggy Paul, director, Protected Satcom Orbital Operations. “It’s helped to build our unique skills and technology base, created a cadre of leadership that has strengthened the sector and the company, produced valuable intellectual property and patents, and contributed to the company’s financial returns.”

AEHF delivers the critical strategic and tactical information to the National Command Authority and the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines and several allied nations. The system delivers the flexible connectivity-on-demand needed to achieve swift, decisive outcomes based on information dominance.

The company produces the Extended Data Rate (XDR) payloads on AEHF in addition to the Low Data Rate and Medium Data Rate payloads on AEHF and its predecessor system, Milstar, for prime contractor Lockheed Martin. Each AEHF payload consists of processor hardware and software, antennas, radio frequency subsystems and crosslinks. The payload provides up to 10 times greater capacity than its predecessor Milstar II and chan-nel data rates six times higher.

Achieving IOC means the AEHF system demonstrated that it meets its requirements—transmitting critical information, text, voice, video, maps and other strategic and tactical data to users

worldwide with communications that are protected against enemy jamming, spoofing, detection and interception.

Complex tasks had to be performed leading up to IOC: AEHF satellites had to be designed, built and launched; the satellites had to be integrated with, and fully backward compatible with the existing Milstar system; the mission control element had to be upgraded to handle XDR data; and fixed and mobile terminals had to be modified or built to handle the new XDR capability.

“AEHF is the most advanced and complex communication payload in the world and provides U.S. national and defense leaders assured communications day or night, without detection or interception under any level of military conflict,” said Tim Frei, vice president, Communication Systems.

“It took the work of a committed and talented government and industry team to bring AEHF to IOC. We are proud of our contributions to this system.”

Four AEHF payloads have been delivered and two more are well into production. Among the many accomplishments on the AEHF program:

/ New capabilities were established for space-based signal and data processors, low-noise high frequency electronics, 60 GHz crosslinks, phased array antennas, protected communications

waveform design, and onboard software-based communication networks.

/ Innovative approaches were developed for building and operating the payloads using high fidelity engineering test beds to realize cost, schedule and risk reduction benefits throughout the program’s life cycle.

/ Engineering and software experts continue to provide support to operational users, leveraging highly specialized skills developed during design, production and ground test.

/ The most knowledgeable personnel from Milstar were used, with direct experience in the development, ground test and operations of the payloads, to help with the ongoing AEHF payload production effort.

/ All four payloads were delivered early, before their scheduled delivery date.

/ The team made technical advances and innovations across the company’s portfolio and industry that have enabled the sector to expand into adjacent business areas, such as Low Cost Terminals, Enhanced Polar System payloads, and several restricted programs.

/ Awards in recognition of achievements have been received from sector, company and external organizations.

IT’S IOC FOR AEHFBy Sally Koris

The announcement by U.S. Air Force General John E. Hyten, Commander of Air Force Space Command, in July that the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite system had achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC) marked the culmination of years of hard work by employees throughout the sector to deliver a new capability to the warfighter.


In July, Aerospace Systems used a B-2 bomber flight demonstration at Edwards Air Force Base to highlight Northrop Grumman’s leadership in a new U.S. Air Force architectural standard called Open Mission Systems (OMS).

The Autonomy Challenge winning team.

Photo by Dave Buchanan

By Brooks McKinney

OKLAHOMA KEEPS THE B-2 OK

Underpinning that success was a concentrated effort by the sector’s B-2 team in Oklahoma City. In just six weeks, they developed, integrated, tested and delivered to Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) a stand-alone subsystem that would allow the B-2 to communicate with other OMS-compliant systems. In the past, such an engineering task would have taken many months, if not years, to achieve.

“The successful B-2 OMS flight tests proved two important things about our company,” said Pat McMahon, sector vice president and general manager, Military Aircraft Systems. “One, that we’re well positioned to develop and help deploy OMS-compliant systems on both legacy and future systems; and two, that our Oklahoma City employees play a pivotal role in the success of the B-2 as the most

integration and testing of new avionics subsystems.

The WSSC includes facilities that duplicate the characteristics and operational behavior of the jet— among them a full motion B-2 flight simulator, a mock B-2 weapons bay and a full scale mock-up of the B-2 hydraulic flight control system.

“In the WSSC, we stage, integrate and test all of the software and hardware required for every proposed B-2 upgrade,” explains Ron Naylor, Aerospace Systems’ Oklahoma site lead and director of B-2 modernization. “Our integra-tion process includes rigorous hardware/software compatibility testing, functional testing, and a thorough government vetting and certification process. Only then is each upgrade formally released and delivered to Edwards AFB for flight testing.”

powerful, most revered weapon system in the nation’s long-range strike inventory.”

Aerospace Systems’ presence in Oklahoma City comprises approximately 350 employees, all of them supporting B-2, spread across 255,000 square feet of office, engineering and laboratory space in facilities on or near Tinker AFB.

The team provides engineering and support services for B-2 sustainment and modernization. Its sustainment tasks include hardware and software sustaining engineering—helping the Air Force troubleshoot hardware or software glitches on the jet, managing inventories of consumable materi-als used to maintain the B-2, and helping identify and acquire adequate stores of replacement

Oklahoma City employees are invested not only in the future of the B-2, but also in the future of the company and their community.

“The aerospace community in Oklahoma City is small, but very tight-knit,” says Naylor. “Through Connect1NG, our employees support both urgent and ongoing community needs. They’re as likely to be found helping provide disaster relief after a tornado or wildfire, as delivering supplies to a women’s shelter, running a blood drive, or manning an aid station at the Oklahoma City Marathon.”

Oklahoma City employees can also be found at home working on Northrop Grumman’s “next big thing.” In October 2014, and again in April 2015, a team of local engineers—Steven Adams, Matt Blair, Zachary Dennis, and Jeremy

parts for B-2 avionics that have become obsolete.

“We work closely with our U.S. government counterparts at Tinker to manage and help resolve the logistic challenges of sustaining a low density, high demand fleet of 25-year-old aircraft,” said Mark Johnson, Aerospace Systems’ director of B-2 product support.

Oklahoma City is also the gateway to B-2 modernization. Every new capability proposed for the jet begins life in a government facility at Tinker called the Weapon Systems Support Center (WSSC).

There, in a series of laboratories, Aerospace Systems employees pursue B-2 engineering activities such as software development, defining and testing new ways to deliver weapons, and complete

Lakes—took top honors in the sector’s Autonomy Challenge, an engineering competition designed to develop software algorithms for fleets of autonomous iRobots engaged in missions of interest to Northrop Grumman and its customers.

“I’m proud of all the things our Oklahoma City employees have achieved by partnering with our U.S. government stakeholders,” adds Naylor. “The team is doing amazing work, both in the community and around the world.

PERFORMANCE


That’s what the Engineers Choice Awards is all about.

Engineering and Global Product Development’s (E&GPD) peer-recognition program identifies and celebrates individual engineering employees as well as engineering teams for exemp-lary technical accomplishments and demonstration of leader-ship, innovation, affordability, collaboration and execution of key objectives.

“Game changers” is how Stuart Linsky, sector vice president, Engineering and Global Pro-duct Development, described Aerospace Systems engineers in his opening remarks as host of the company’s third annual Engineers Choice Awards luncheon held in November in Marina del Rey, Calif.

“The work we do in engineering helps preserve freedom. People’s

lives depend on our performance,” said Linsky. “That is an incredible responsibility in which we all take great pride. The Engineers Choice Awards recognize our employees’ exemplary engineering performance, often demonstrated under great challenge and with high levels of scrutiny.”

Linsky recognized 39 winners with trophies and special prizes during the luncheon. Attendees spent valuable time networking with sector and Engineering leadership.

So, how do you earn an Engineers Choice Award?

E&GPD employees nominate individuals and/or teams in a variety of award categories within each Engineering directorate in July. Engineering leadership, including Distinguished Technical Leaders and Chief Engineers, review the submissions and

select up to three finalists in each category. Finalists are announced and E&GPD employees vote online to determine the winners.

This year, close to 600 engineer-ing employees were nominated for 28 awards in seven different categories and the competition was fierce. In all, close to 7,500 votes were cast to determine this year’s winners, a 32 percent increase over last year.

As recent program wins continue to create many new engineering career opportunities within the sector, the annual peer-recogni-tion program highlights employee development while celebrating some of the top engineering work performed in the organization.

2015 Engineers Choice Award winners join Stuart Linksy for a groupie following the award ceremony.

Photo by Robert M. Brown

By Bonnie PoindexterCHOICETHE

IS YOURSWhat better way to select top performers than by asking employees themselves to choose individuals on their teams who are demonstrating the best of the best.

From enabling fundamental scientific advancements in R&D to implementing disruptive design and manufacturing capabilities to win new business, Aerospace Systems’ Engineering team

generates game-changing results worthy of recognition and celebration.

“”—Stuart Linsky

sector vice president, Engineering and Global Product Development

PERFORMANCE


FOR FIRST JAPANESE-BUILT F-35By Brooks McKinney

In late September, Aerospace Systems completed the center fuselage for the first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter that Japan will produce in its new F-35A final assembly and checkout facility in Nagoya, Japan.

That center fuselage, designated AX-5, was presented in early October to representatives of the Japanese government and Lockheed Martin, the F-35 prime contractor, during a brief ceremony at the Palmdale Aircraft Integration Center of Excellence. As part of the visit, the guests received a tour of the F-35 Integrated Assembly Line, where the sector will produce all center fuselages for Japan.

“It’s fitting that today’s delivery coincides with Manufacturing Day, a national celebration of our country’s manufacturing skills

and capabilities,” said David Tracy, director of Aerospace Systems F-35 center fuselage integrated product team.

“We’re proud of the manufacturing leadership that Northrop Grumman brings to the F-35 program as we continue to increase the quality, affordability and production rate of the center fuselage.”Hidehisa Horinouchi, Consul General of Japan, Los Angeles, spoke during the ceremony of the growing cooperation between U.S. and Japanese defense forces. He described the delivery of AX-5 as

“another phase of enhancing the U.S./Japanese security alliance,” calling it “a centerpiece of Japan’s effort to assemble its first F-35.”

“The F-35 program is really a team sport,” said Joel Malone, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 business development manager for Japan, “And Japan has been an incredible F-35 customer.” He also thanked Northrop Grumman for its role in helping build customer confidence that every F-35 will be delivered on time, on cost with the promised performance.

AX-5 is one of 42 center fuse-lages that Northrop Grumman will produce for Japan. It is the 207th center fuselage that the company has produced in Palmdale, Calif., and one of more than 3,000 that will be produced for the F-35 program.

Hidehisa Horinouchi, Consul General of Japan, Los Angeles (left) and Chikara Komiyama, Consul for

Defense Affairs and Security Attaché, Los Angeles, represented Japan in the ceremonial delivery of the

AX-5 center fuselage.


CENTER FUSELAGE COMPLETEDPERFORMANCE

© 2015 Northrop Grumman Corporation w w w. A m e r i c a s N e w B o m b e r. c o m

WHEN YOU HAVE 35 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE BUILDING

STEALTH BOMBERS, YOU’RE INHERENTLY MORE AFFORDABLE.

With over 35 years of experience manufacturing stealth bombers, Northrop Grumman’s

Long Range Strike Bomber is inherently more affordable. Our innovative approach

combines a mature design with our award-winning integrated assembly line for maximum

efficiency. And because we also make the key avionics and stealth components for other

advanced aircraft, we can deliver better-produced stealth systems.

THIS IS WHAT WE DO. AGAIN.


COVER STORY

Thirty-five years ago, Northrop Grumman put its passion for inno-vation and customer satisfaction to work designing and producing the B-2, an aircraft unlike the world had ever seen, for a mission that would redefine the ground rules and boundaries of global air power. Today, the company is applying that spirit of innovation again, this time to helping the nation define and deploy the next generation of global deterrence.

On Nov. 9, applauding and waving miniature American flags, 700 employees welcomed Tom Vice, corporate vice president and sector president, Aerospace Systems, and several state and local leaders to the hangar stage at the Manned Aircraft Design Center of Excel-lence in Melbourne, Fla.

The purpose of this event, and several others held across the country, was to thank and celebrate with employees who helped to make the selection of Northrop Grumman for the U.S. Air Force’s Long-Range Strike Bomber pro-gram a reality.

Three hours after the Melbourne event, another 700 employees in Palmdale, Calif., joined together to enthusiastically greet Wes

Bush, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Northrop Grumman. Employees heard from senior leadership that bold ingenuity and years of hard work and unprecedented strategic planning had paid off: Northrop Grumman will build the nation’s next stealth bomber.

And in Baltimore, Md., more than 1,000 employees at the Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems facility gathered to hear from sector president Gloria Flach and leaders from the region on the impact this program will have on Northrop Grumman and the nation.

The high level of enthusiasm and comradery was evident as dignitaries attended these celebrations in force. In Melbourne, guest speakers included Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Sen. Bill Nelson and U.S. Rep. Bill Posey. In Palmdale, U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, chair-man of the House Armed Services Committee, and U.S. Rep. Steve Knight joined Wes Bush in congratulating employees and remarking on the company’s impressive history that made this military milestone possible.

In Baltimore, Congressman “Dutch” Ruppersberger, Congressman

John Sarbanes and Congressman Elijah Cummings shared their deep appreciation for what our employees do every day to help keep our warfighters safe from harm.

With more than 35 years of experience in advanced stealth technology, Northrop Grumman is the only company that has designed, developed and delivered a long-range stealth bomber. That’s quite an accomplishment and a defining fact that led to Northrop Grumman’s selection. Tom Vice told the crowd,

“The only ones who were surprised that we won is the team that has never done this before.”These employee events were much more than celebrations—they were statements. Statements about how Northrop Grumman employees consistently approach their jobs with creativity, scrutiny and expertise. And statements that showcased Northrop Grumman as an exceptional, strong industry leader and a powerful innovator that is taking command of its future.

Brooks McKinney also contributed to this article.

Tom Vice addresses employees at Melbourne rally celebration.

Photo by Steve PotterLEGACY

LIKE NO OTHER

“Our team has the resources in place to execute this important program, and we’re ready to get to work.”

—Wes Bush, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Northrop Grumman

By Ann Carney

Wes Bush celebrates Northrop Grumman’s big win with

employees on the West Coast.

Photo by Alyssa Cooper

A

When Ryan Aeronautical created the original RQ-4A Global Hawk in the 1990s, it was designed around specific sensors. It was so successful that its potential for carrying payloads for other missions was quickly recognized.

ONE FLEET By Alan Radecki

However, the airframe had to be partially redesigned each time a new sensor package was developed. This resulted in various Global Hawk versions, commonly known as “Blocks.”

This design approach meant that payloads, as a permanent part of the aircraft, were not interchangeable. For instance, when NASA acquired two of the original Block 0 airframes from the U.S. Air Force, it took months to modify it to carry weather-science payloads.

As sensor technology evolved and new Global Hawk missions were identified, a universal payload

creativity, enthusiasm and all the tools you have in solving a very complex problem.”

Ramirez agrees, “When you can solve complex problems with simple solutions … that’s a great feeling.”

The UPA provides a rapid swap out of payloads, some types of which have yet to even be theorized. In parallel with the UPA, HALE engineers are developing an open architec-ture system that addresses the payload’s functionality, allowing a “plug-and-play” payload system.

The result is an unblocking of the Blocks.

adaptor was now mandatory to meet warfighters’ requirements. “We needed to reconfigure our aircraft in a much more affordable and easier way,” said Alfredo Ramirez, director and High Alti-tude Long Endurance (HALE) chief architect.

Pondering this challenge, a moment of ingenuity came to Phil Lo, HALE configuration design engineer, as he glanced at tabletops in the Rancho Bernardo, Calif., laser lab. The surfaces of these lab benches have a matrix of threaded holes needed to mount test equipment in versatile configurations. “That was the genius of it,” he explained. “Our

team got together, thought it over, and asked how we could duplicate this onto the Global Hawk.”

Lo’s team innovated a set of small fittings, each about the size and shape of a hockey puck, that are attached to the bottom of the aircraft in a grid pattern, along with a large plate mounted to the various payloads. The system was named the Universal Payload Adaptor, or UPA, and it is making it possible to change Global Hawk’s “blocks” into One Fleet, where any Global Hawk can carry any sensor.

“The concept of the UPA is simple,” says Lo, “But what’s remarkable is the execution of the design—using

Consider this: with the UPA and an open architecture system, a universal Global Hawk might fly a SIGINT payload over hostile terri- tory one day—and a humanitarian search-and- rescue sensor package over a natural disaster the next.

For Phil Lo, the issue was more than just solving a technical problem; it was contributing to the greater cause.

Phil Lo and the heart of the Universal Payload Adaptor, which will enable a much wider range of payloads to be interchangeably carried on the “unblocked” Global Hawks.


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INGENUITY


“The more we can do with the Global Hawk, the better off our country will be.”

—Phil Lo


ACROSS THE SECTOR

WISE: By Ann Carney

worked with executive sponsors and WIL alumna mentors to tackle six different business challenges. The teams’ hard work and re-search culminated this past June when the 30-member group came together from across the nation to present its solutions at the inaugural WISE Summit in Redondo Beach, Calif.

Wendy Robello, manager of Engineering Competitive Analy-sis, was one of the protégées participating at the summit.

Her team researched avenues of retention and advancement for women in mid-level technical positions within the company. As the first generation and first female in her family to attend college, Robello was ideally suited to embrace this topic.

“I’ve always enjoyed math,” said Robello. “But I never thought about pursuing it with relation to a career. The idea of college was not promoted in my family growing up. Once I was introduced to phy-sics, I loved the challenge. It was tough at first, but then it clicked. I wanted to find a way to integrate mathematics and physics without losing my artistic/creative side.”

Robello, who earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s in systems architecture and engineering, said that might not have happened if not for the encouragement of mentors along the way.

“One of the themes throughout our [team’s] research was that in addition to high performance, quality mentorships and network-ing are vital for career growth,” she said.

Recommendations presented by Robello’s team included develop-ing a chief engineer pilot program and holding quarterly virtual panel discussions led by women with high-level technical positions at Northrop Grumman.

Chris Daughters, vice president of Engineering and Advanced Development for Special Programs in El Segundo, Calif., advised Robello’s team and served as a mentor to one of its members. He noted that in many companies, diversity statistics are satisfactory for entry-level female engineers but sharply decline once women approach 10 years of experience.

“Programs like WIL and WISE are a positive step in realizing diversity in the next generation of our technical leaders, and there are more steps we could take,” he said.

“Diversity at all levels is essential for Northrop Grumman because it makes us a more valuable company, with more ingenuity, stronger teams, superior products, and better relationships with our customers.”

Women who excel in science and engineering needed more opportunities to glean leadership skills that would help them grow and advance in their field. That’s why Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems established Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) earlier this year.

“We wanted to create a support network, strongly linked to the corporate Women in Leadership

Wendy Robello (left) with Halle Horne during their team’s presentation.

THE NEXT GENERATION

“Women engineers demonstrate every day that they have the ability to excel in challenging fields such as science and aerospace. Greater networking opportunities with senior management will strengthen their potential for discovery and advancement.”

—Wendy Robello, manager of Engineering Competitive Analysis

(WIL) program, that would foster professional relationships with senior management and also lead to sponsorship opportunities,” said Karen Tokashiki, director of Integration, Competitive Analysis and Materials for Engineering and Global Product Development.

WISE members were selected, assigned executive mentors, and divided into six teams. Over the following three months, teams

Richa Jolly shares thoughts with guest speaker during WISE Summit Q&A.

Photos by Daniel Perales

As it approached its goal of helping save one million hours of work in 2015, the Busting Bureaucracy initiative recently paused long enough to mark one year of success.

3224 INSIDE AEROSPACE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 3225

ACROSS THE SECTOR

By Tom Henson

Besides the significant savings, the program’s website (accessed by typing ‘busting’ in the browser window) has logged more than 30,000 visits and 400 ideas for improvements. Employees have viewed the ideas more than 100,000 times, often offering suggestions and solutions. And, most encouraging of all, a recent snapshot indicated that 90 percent of ideas were coming from first-time submitters.

The numbers alone are worth celebrating and indicate ongoing and increasing interest in the program among employees. But numbers only tell part of the success story; it’s the news be-hind the numbers that has made this a remarkable year.

This caused delays for Linch and additional work for purchasers. He visited the Busting Bureaucracy website and submitted the idea to move his purchases from EPS to a corporate purchasing card, which makes ordering his items more like using an online retail store. Linch has used his saved hours to draft and submit four new patents. And, his work on two projects earned him nominations for two Engineers Choice “Invention of the Year” awards this year.

“Engineering is an iterative process, and the purchasing change shortens that process considerably,”

Working together across functions, the Busting Bureaucracy team and volunteers from around the sector have achieved high-profile, high-impact results, including eliminating the requirement for a pre-travel approval form; shifting from a paper, event-driven photo permission form to a one-time, online, clickable form; and streamlining purchasing processes across the sector. These and other “busted” issues led to a President’s Award for the program in August and have demonstrated the value of finding ways to save time.

“When Busting Bureaucracy launched in late 2014, everyone involved understood that taking on something this ambitious would be met with some skepticism and

said Linch. “Now, I can bring new ideas from concept to completion more rapidly. Most importantly, I’m able to do what I’ve always wanted to do as an engineer—inspire and create.”Now McElroy and the Busting Bureaucracy team are turning their attention to 2016, and an even more ambitious timesaving target, with a new focus on sharing the benefits of reclaiming lost time as Linch and others have done.

would prove to be a real challenge,” says Sandy McElroy, lead of the initiative and director of Sector Affordability and Business Process Excellence. “And here we are, one eventful, inspiring year and we’ve already seen a real benefit—helping our teammates find time to do what they came here to do.”

A perfect example is Jon Linch, an aeroacoustic engineer responsi-ble for implementing new stealth technologies that facilitate air-craft survivability. Linch works in research and development, so he often purchases unusual, one-off materials. For this, he’d been using EPS, a program more suited for purchases of conventional flight hardware that required additional hours and personnel to use.

“Saving time certainly is our goal, but our main objective is to enable our incredible teammates to achieve their own ambitions,” McElroy says. “Imagine what this talented work force can do with extra hours to innovate. We can’t wait to see what happens next year and beyond.”

(left to right): Kyle Rahrig, Jon Linch and David Schein, members of the aeroacoustics team, with some of their flight-test hardware.

Photo by Glen Sakaguchi

HOURS SAVEDONEMILLION

By Linda Javier

And then it’s time for celebration! This year alone, more than 300 employees on the West Coast and East Coast celebrated their 25-year milestone.

On Nov. 7 at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Southern California, 180 Northrop Grumman West Coast employees were honored for reaching their 25-year service anniversary with the company this year. Celebrating their amazing 50th anniversary with the company were Ann Clark, Frank Fendell and Ann Linen.

After a welcome and introduction by Heidi Hendrix, sector vice

to work on many critical programs and activities, classified and un- classified. From administrative assistants to engineers, from flight test to fleet support, their work has contributed to the success of the company.

“You have sacrificed a lot, but for a good and honorable cause—we build systems that take men and women in harm’s way to protect and project freedom and bring them back home. We have put Americans on the moon, and we intend to be the team that builds systems that find habitable planets around distant stars,” Vice said. “To you, the spouses, the partners, and the families, I want to say Thank You.”

Looking back, 50-year honoree Ann Linen, administrative assist-ant in San Diego, attributes her longevity with the company to “management and the fantastic people I work with.” She started

president of Human Resources, Sector President Tom Vice shared his memory of his first day on the job: “a seemingly indefinite clearance process followed by a walk through a series of doors reminiscent of the opening sequence to the show Get Smart.” Then, seeing a mockup of an aircraft so sleek that didn’t look like anything he had ever seen before, he realized that “this was going to be a really cool job.” His first day was on the B-2.

Acknowledging where we’ve been and where we came from, Vice lauded the company’s founders, dreamers, and innovators.

with Ryan Aerospace and Teledyne Ryan before becoming part of Northrop Grumman.

Ann Clark, senior administrative assistant in Redondo Beach, who originally joined TRW as a clerk in 1965, commented “There was such a variety of opportunities on various projects and programs … but remain with the company.” She later had the opportunity to work on the Lunar Module Descent Engine and the James Webb Space Telescope program.

Fellow 50-year honoree Frank Fendell, mechanical engineer in Redondo Beach, says he was drawn to TRW’s environment that allowed him to be as good professionally as he was capable of being. He also benefitted from the guidance and support he received from a series of mentors throughout his career. His next milestone? Striving for his next problem-solving to be better than any he’s done in the past.

“We truly believe our potential is LIMITLESS —and we are driven to build insanely great products.”In addition to citing new pursuits that include the new advanced jet trainer, the next generation of surveillance aircraft and resilient satellites, he reflected on Northrop Grumman being the first to land an autonomous aircraft on the deck of a carrier and the first to refuel an autonomous aircraft in flight.

The honorees in the room that evening have worked and continue

“Applied mathematicians never exhaust the supply of problems,” he added, “just the lifespan to tackle them.”

TRIBUTEService anniversaries may not seem important, or even reachable, until you hit one.

SILVERGOLD

A&

Celebrating 25 years with Northrop Grumman in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Photos by Alex Evers


ACROSS THE SECTOR

Fifty years of service: (left to right) Ann Linen, Frank Fendell and Ann Clark.

INSIDE AEROSPACE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 32293228

ACROSS THE SECTOR

After retiring from the U.S. Air Force in 2005 with 26 years of acquisition management experience, Kevin Bell looked for another opportunity to use his business management acumen.

He found it with Northrop Grumman.For more than eight years, Bell represented Northrop Grumman in the Dayton region in business development and as a sector lead for Aerospace Systems, working closely with the area’s former corporate lead executive (CLE) Jay Jabour. When Jabour retired last year, this position was a logical transition for Bell.

“I could now represent all four sectors and the company in a broader sense,” says Bell. “It all seemed to fall into place and is a capstone for me professionally to serve as CLE in the Dayton area.”

He interacts primarily with Wright Patterson Air Force Base, the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (LCMC). The B-2 and Global Hawk programs are billion-dollar programs managed at the LCMC. A number of efforts from across the company’s sectors are also done here, including technology development and future captures.

“I might be dealing with an Aerospace Systems program one day, an Electronic Systems program the next, Information Systems in the afternoon, and I really get an appreciation more broadly about the services and products this company provides.

It’s exciting to see all the new technology and capabilities we bring to our national defense and security, specifically to the Air Force. It makes it exciting to come into work every day.”

Bell’s involvement in the community, supported in large extent by his assistant Lynn Locke, benefits his engagement with base personnel and local industry. As president for the Wright Brothers Regional Chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association, Bell meets monthly with representatives of all major defense contractors and some small businesses to develop and manage programs to support Air Force customers.

The association also supports the area’s USO chapter, STEM and Air Force training activities, as well as special nonprofit organizations, such as Fisher Nightingale House. This nationwide organization builds houses on military installations (two at Wright Patterson) where families can stay at no charge while their loved ones receive longer-term medical attention.

While he considers becoming a corporate lead executive as the highlight of his professional career, Bell deems the pinnacle of his Air Force career to be his deployment to Afghanistan in 2004.

“There’s not a lot of opportunity in the acquisition career field to deploy into a combat zone,” Bell says. “I volunteered while I was a colonel because I wanted more direct involvement in the war on terror before retiring from the Air Force.”

He became an acquisitions/logistics mentor and advisor to the U.S. Major General who led the Joint Office of Military Cooperation in Kabul, Afghanistan, and served as mentor to the Afghan general in charge of the Afghan National Army (ANA) acquisition command.

From September 2004-February 2005, Bell directed recruiting, training and establishment of a 500-man ANA acquisition command responsible for acquiring equipment and supplies, including thousands of Ford Ranger trucks and four-wheel drive vehicles for troop transportation. For his activity in the war zone, Bell was awarded the Bronze Star.

Dayton holds a special fascination for Bell as a city with a rich aviation heritage. “This is the home of the Wright Brothers,” he states. “Today, you can visit Huffman Prairie at the old Patterson Field where Wilbur and Orville developed and tested the first practical airplane.

“I used to live on the Air Force base, run past Huffman Prairie and think about how much aviation has changed the world,” reflects Bell.

“Our company pro-vides some of the most advanced flying machines ever created, and we’re here at this location where it all started.”

Kevin Bell in front of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

Photo by Suzanne Bell

By Linda JavierBELLKEVIN

CORPORATE LEAD EXECUTIVE, DAYTON, OHIO


COMMUNITY

Northrop Grumman employees hard at work at the El Segundo, Calif., site

building bikes for children.

Photo by Robert M. Brown

Doing good while having fun summarizes this year’s USO Carnival and Car Show held in early September at the Palmdale Aircraft Integration Center of Excellence.

From adult tricycle races to the impressive car and motorcycle show, from dunk tanks and live music to a “cupcake war” bake-off, this 7th annual event was attended by more than 800 employees.

Six teams of employees, with representatives from both work shifts, participated in the tricycle (trike) race, the most anticipat-ed and humorous of the day’s competitions. Engineers Damien Smith and Michael Schulte won the trike race trophy for first shift.

“Damien and I have done the trike race for at least five or six years

now,” said Schulte. “It’s fun for us and fun for others to watch, but most importantly, it raises money for the USO to support our troops.”

Race requirements include not only riding a tricycle, but assembling it beforehand and decorating it with a creative flair. Additionally, it has become a tradition for the teams to dress in costume, enhancing the playful spirit of the race.

At the end of the day, more than $37,000 was raised.

“The Carnival signified the end of our 2015 USO campaign,” said Andy Reynolds, vice president, Manufacturing Operations, and Palmdale site manager. “I thank all employees for their generosity in support of our site fundraising efforts.”

Palmdale, Calif.By Celina Ramirez

Mike Schulte (left) and Damien Smith pose after pedaling away to victory in

the annual USO Trike Race.

Photo by Aaron Lewis

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EMPLOYEES GIVING BACKFeaturing Northrop Grumman employees sharing their time, talent and ideas

Nearly 150 children in military services outreach programs will receive new bicycles this holiday season thanks to the Build-A-Bike charity competition.

In October, seven teams from the El Segundo, Calif., site competed to see which team could build 21 new children’s bikes right out of the box. The F/A-18 Structures group won with a completion time of 13 minutes.

The Build-A-Bike event was a joint effort with Aerospace Systems Corporate Citizenship and the nonprofit, L.A. Works. More than 250 employees participated in the event re- motely from Redondo Beach, Palmdale and San Diego.

BUILD-A-BIKEEl Segundo, Calif.

By Tom Henson

USO CARNIVAL AND CAR SHOW

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Northrop G

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STEALTHNot all stealth is created equal. For more than 70 years, Northrop Grumman has

been the leader in tailless, blended-wing aircraft—an essential hallmark of true,

low-observable stealth. And to this day, we’re the only ones who have delivered

large-scale, long-range stealth aircraft. THIS IS WHAT WE DO.

w w w. n o r t h r o p g r u m m a n . c o m /s t e al t h

A Legacy Like No Other 18

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