The Air Force released the names and work locations of seven main industrial partners of Northrop Grumman on the new B-21 bomber Monday. Pratt & Whitney, in East Hartford, Conn., will serve as the principal subcontractor, confirming Air Force Magazine’s surmise at the time of Northrop’s selection for the project, though Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James did not specify the powerplant the B-21 will use, nor how many engines it will carry. The other team members and their work locations James named during her “State of the Air Force” address were, in order: BAE Systems, Nashua, N.H.; GKN Aerospace, St. Louis, Mo.; Janicki Industries, Sedro-Woolley, Wash.; Orbital ATK, Clearfield, Utah, and Dayton, Ohio; Rockwell-Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Spirit Aerosystems, Wichita, Kan. James did not give any information on the roles each would play, nor would she specify where Northrop will perform integration work or final assembly. Northrop’s Palmdale, Calif., plant, however, where the B-2 was manufactured, has large excess capacity. The Air Force has been pressed to provide the industrial information so that advocacy by constituent groups can begin. James said additional information on the B-21 will be released as “appropriate.” James also said the Boeing protest of the award to Northrop has been resolved in USAF’s favor, and Boeing has declined to pursue the matter in court, and “work has begun” on the new airplane.
Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd III met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines to discuss bolstering defense ties on May 2. The discussion included plans for joint F-35 exercises with Japan and Australia in the coming years.