Global Power Made in America: Northrop Grumman Makes it in Arizona

Arizona is home to one of Northrop Grumman's most advanced manufacturing footprints, spanning the equivalent of 12 football fields of state-of-the-art production space. Here, advanced manufacturing and digital engineering come together to fuel innovation at scale. From missile defense to deep-space habitats, Northrop Grumman's Arizona operations embody how technology, precision and purpose converge to secure the nation and shape the future of space exploration.

Northrop Grumman Corporation successfully completed assembly and testing of its Protected Tactical Satcom Rapid Prototype (PTS-P) payload and delivered it to the company's facility in Gilbert, Arizona, where it will be integrated with an ESPAStar-HP bus and next-generation digital processing subsystem. (Photo Credit: Northrop Grumman)

Here's how Northrop Grumman makes global power in Arizona:

• Where Innovation Meets Community.With more than 3,000 employees statewide, Northrop Grumman seeks to build careers and communities. A recent study shows Northrop Grumman's operations support over 17,500 jobs and has a $5 billion economic impact statewide. The company partners with Arizona State University to advance science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and research initiatives. Through direct giving and volunteerism, the total value of Northrop Grumman's community investments in Arizona exceeds $725,000. Together with community partners like the Arizona Science Center and AZCEND, Northrop Grumman is advancing education, innovation and opportunity across the state.

• Testing Tomorrow's Defenses Today.At 650,000 square feet, the Chandler facility designs, develops, and produces advanced target vehicles and interceptors for the Missile Defense Agency and other government partners. Arizona-built systems are essential for the testing and verification of the United States' missile defense systems against short-, medium-, intermediate-range and intercontinental ballistic missile threats. Among them are the GQM-163A Coyote supersonic sea-skimming target, which simulates anti-ship missile threats at speeds over Mach 2.5, and the Glide Phase Interceptor, the first-of-its-kind countermeasure against hypersonic threats.

• Built to Scale: Ammo Production Surge.The Northrop Grumman Mesa facility houses full production lines for the Bushmaster Chain Gun and medium caliber ammunition, featuring automated machining, precision assembly, in-line quality control and dedicated test range operations. Recent capacity and tooling upgrades have increased throughput and strengthened supply chain resiliency to support force readiness and raise capacity levels.

• Pioneering Space Manufacturing.Spanning 435,000 square feet, the Northrop Grumman Gilbert campus is one of the largest and most advanced satellite assembly, integration and test facilities in the U.S. The site produces satellites for Earth observation, communications, space science and national defense. Additionally, the Gilbert Campus supports end-to-end manufacturing from broad-level fabrication to full system integration and testing. This minimizes handoffs, reduces errors and enhances collaboration, ensuring accurate manufacturing for sensitive and critical space-based missions.

• Advancing Human Exploration.At the Gilbert campus, NASA's Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) is being outfitted and integrated with the systems to allow astronaut crews to live and work on long-duration missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. Additionally, the Gilbert campus supports ESPAStarmanufacturing. ESPAStaris a revolutionary ride sharing spacecraft that can accommodate up to six hosted and 12 separable (fly-away) payloads, making space-based missions more attainable.

From defending against emerging threats to building humanity's next home beyond Earth, Northrop Grumman's Arizona workforce is driving innovation that protects the nation, supports and expands the boundaries of exploration.

With nearly 100,000 employees and over 30 million square feet of manufacturing space - more than 500 football fields - Northrop Grumman has the capacity, scale, and agility to drive innovation at unprecedented speeds. The company'smanufacturing approach isn't just about flawless production - it was developed to accelerate and enhance the entire process from design and development to production and testing. The company has invested in U.S. infrastructure, R&D, its workforce, and supply chain to deliver the national security needs of today and for tomorrow.