My Thoughts on Northrop's Rally
I attended Northrop's Friday rally and celebration over its win of the KC-45 aerial refueling tanker for the Air Force.
At $35 billion, its the second biggest Department of Defense contract ever.
This link will send you to the full story.
The event was held in a parking lot outside an design center where Northrop engineers develop some of the most technologically advanced military aircraft systems including for unmanned aircraft.
The mood was festive. It had the air of a political rally, with Northrop executives and local politicians insisting that Boeing's challenge to Northrop's contract win was basically ridiculous. Behind the the speakers' podium, employees waved small American flags like a presidential candidates rally, creating a patriotic image meant to impress anyone who sees the images from home.
Northrop says that it won the Air Force contract fair and square, and that Boeing is using politics to overturn the result. If that's true, then Northrop is also using politics to maintain its win. Northrop employees were asked to contact their Congress members to support the Northrop win.
The event reminded me of two clear memories I have.
One was at a Northrop dinner a few years ago where chairman and CEO Ron Sugar told the attendees that the company's political clout in Washington DC had increased dramatically.
The other was an interview I had with Sy Ramo, co-founder of TRW and now an adviser to Sugar and other Northrop top brass. Ramo bemoaned the politicization of the defense industry, where defense systems are purchased due, in large part, to political factors -- which Congressional districts get which jobs -- rather than strictly based on what is best for the defense of the nation.
Ironic, huh?