NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP /DE/ (NOC) Business

Item 1. Business

HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION

History

Northrop Grumman Corporation (herein referred to as “Northrop Grumman,” the “company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a leading global aerospace and defense technology company. We deliver a broad range of products, services and solutions to U.S. and international customers, and principally to the U.S. Department of War (“DoW”) and intelligence community. Our broad portfolio is aligned to support national security priorities and our solutions equip our customers with capabilities they need to connect, protect and advance humanity.

The company is a leading provider of space systems, military aircraft, missile defense, advanced weapons and long-range fires capabilities, mission systems, networking and communications, strategic deterrence systems, and breakthrough technologies, such as advanced computing, microelectronics and cyber. We are focused on competing and winning programs that enable continued growth, performing on our commitments and affordably delivering capability our customers need. With the investments we've made in advanced technologies, combined with our talented workforce and digital transformation capabilities, Northrop Grumman is well positioned to meet our customers' needs today and in the future. For a discussion of risks associated with our operations, see “Risk Factors.”

The company originally was formed in 1939 in Hawthorne, California as Northrop Aircraft Incorporated and was reincorporated in Delaware in 1985, as Northrop Corporation. Northrop Corporation was a principal developer of flying wing technology, including the B-2 Spirit stealth aircraft. We developed into one of the largest defense technology companies in the world through organic growth and a series of acquisitions and divestitures, including the following:

•1994 - Acquired Grumman Corporation, a premier military aircraft systems integrator. The combined company was renamed Northrop Grumman Corporation;

•1996 - Acquired the defense and electronics businesses of Westinghouse Electric Corporation, developer of sophisticated radar and other electronics systems;

•2001 - Acquired Litton Industries, Inc., a global electronics and information technology company and full service shipbuilder;

•2001 - Acquired Newport News Shipbuilding Inc., designer and builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines;

•2002 - Acquired TRW Inc., developer of military and civil space systems and payloads, and integrator of complex, mission-enabling systems and services;

•2011 - Completed the spin-off of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., operator of our former shipbuilding business, comprised largely of a part of Litton Industries and Newport News Shipbuilding;

•2018 - Acquired Orbital ATK, Inc. (OATK), developer and producer of satellites and other space systems, launch vehicles and missile products; and

•2021 - Completed the sale of our IT and mission support services business to Veritas Capital.

Organization

From time to time, we acquire or dispose of businesses and realign contracts, programs or businesses among and within our operating segments. Internal realignments are typically designed to leverage existing capabilities more fully and to enhance efficient development and delivery of products and services. At December 31, 2025, the company was aligned in four operating sectors, which also comprise our reportable segments: Aeronautics Systems, Defense Systems, Mission Systems and Space Systems.

Effective January 1, 2025, the company realigned the Strike and Surveillance Aircraft Solutions (SSAS) business unit from Defense Systems to Aeronautics Systems. This realignment is reflected in the financial information contained in this report.

AERONAUTICS SYSTEMS

Aeronautics Systems is a leader in the design, development, production, integration, sustainment and modernization of military aircraft systems for the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, other U.S. government agencies, and international customers. Major products include strategic long-range strike aircraft; tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft;

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airborne battle management and command and control systems; and uncrewed autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) strategic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems. Approximately 40 percent of this business is performed through restricted programs. Key programs include:

•Development and production of the U.S. Air Force B-21 Raider long-range strike aircraft that define sixth-generation technologies;

•Modernization and sustainment services for the B-2 Spirit stealth aircraft;

•Development and production of the E-130J Phoenix II nuclear command, control and communications (NC3) aircraft for the U.S. Navy’s Take Charge And Move Out (TACAMO) mission;

•Fuselage production for the F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter and F/A-18 Super Hornet for use by U.S. and international forces;

•E-2D Advanced Hawkeye battle management aircraft production for the U.S. Navy, Japan, and France;

•MQ-4C Triton, which provides wide area strategic ISR over vast ocean and coastal regions for maritime domain awareness to the U.S. Navy and Australia;

•RQ-4 Global Hawk, which provides high resolution imagery of land masses for theater awareness and strategic ISR to the U.S. Air Force, Japan, and the Republic of Korea; and

•Global system sustainment and operations support for the F-35, B-2, F/A-18, E-2, E-3, A-10, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS), Triton, Global Hawk, and restricted programs.

DEFENSE SYSTEMS

Defense Systems is a leader in the design, engineering, development, integration and production of strategic deterrent systems, advanced tactical weapons, and missile defense solutions for the U.S. military and a broad range of international customers. Major products and services include strategic missiles; integrated, all-domain command and control (C2) systems; precision strike weapons; advanced propulsion, including tactical solid rocket motors and high speed air-breathing and hypersonic systems; high-performance gun systems, ammunition, precision munitions and advanced fuzes; and weapons integration, modernization, and sustainment. Less than 5 percent of this business is performed through restricted programs. Key programs include:

•Sentinel Engineering & Manufacturing Development (EMD) program, initial phase of the modernization of the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system that will serve as the ground-based strategic deterrent for the U.S. nuclear triad;

•Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) for the U.S. Army and Poland, which is an open architecture system that seamlessly integrates sensors and effectors to deliver among the most advanced C2 systems for joint and coalition forces;

•Medium (30mm and 20mm) and Large (120mm) caliber tactical and training ammunition production;

•Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) propulsion and warhead subsystems for a surface-to-surface system used to defeat targets using indirect precision fires;

•U.S. Navy’s Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM), a medium-range, air-to-surface missile, and its extended range variant, AARGM-ER;

•Medium caliber cannons for air, land, sea and counter unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) applications, ranging from 20mm to 50mm configurations;

•U.S. Air Force’s Stand-In Attack Weapon (SiAW), an advanced capability air-to-surface tactical missile for the F-35;

•Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) air-breathing, scramjet propulsion subsystem for the hypersonic air-launched cruise missile to travel at speeds of Mach 5 or greater;

•Precision Guidance Kit (PGK), replaces conventional fuzes for artillery and mortar munitions and transforms them into Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled precision guided weapons; and

•Production of solid rocket motors for the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) program and Third Stage Rocket Motor (TSRM) for the Standard Missile (SM-3) program.

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MISSION SYSTEMS

Mission Systems is a leader in advanced mission solutions and multifunction systems, primarily for the U.S. defense and intelligence community, and international customers. Major products and services include radar, electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) and acoustic sensors; command, control, communications and computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems; electronic warfare systems; advanced communications and network systems; advanced microelectronics; navigation and positioning sensors; maritime power, propulsion and payload launch systems; full spectrum cyber solutions; and intelligence processing systems. Approximately 30 percent of this business is performed through restricted programs. Key programs include:

•Large Aircraft and Common Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM, DoN LAIRCM, CIRCM) systems, which protect large aircraft as well as rotary wing and medium fixed wing aircraft from infrared missiles using advanced laser technology;

•F-35 fire control radar and Distributed Aperture System (DAS), which provides 360 degree field of view tracking, identifying, missile warning and night vision capabilities;

•F-35 Communications, Navigation and Identification (CNI) integrated avionics system, which provides secure communications and interoperability capabilities;

•Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR), an active electronically scanned array fire control radar system for F-16 aircraft;

•Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR), a mobile multi-mode active electronically scanned array;

•Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block III, which protects surface ships from anti-ship missiles, provides early detection, signal analysis and threat warning;

•Power generation and propulsion systems for Virginia and Columbia class submarines;

•Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C). The centerpiece of the E-7 AEW&C aircraft is the Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar which enables 360 degree long range advanced air moving target indicator (AMTI) capabilities for Battle Management, Command and Control, and Maritime Surveillance;

•Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN), one of the first airborne gateway systems that allows platforms to communicate and securely share data;

•LITENING Advanced Targeting Pod, an electro-optical infrared sensor system for targeting and surveillance that enables aircrews to detect, acquire, identify and track targets at long ranges;

•APR-39 DV(2) and EV(2) Radar Warning Receiver programs, which provide a digital radar warning receiver for the U.S. Army, Navy and Marines;

•Exploitation and cyber programs, which provide cyber and intelligence domain support through unique intelligence and cyber capabilities;

•Embedded GPS / Inertial Navigation Systems-Modernization (EGI-M) program, which provides state-of-the-art airborne navigation capabilities with an open architecture that enables rapid responses to future threats; and

•AC/MC 130J Radio Frequency Countermeasures system, which provides superior situational awareness and better enables aircraft survivability in operationally relevant environments.

SPACE SYSTEMS

Space Systems is a leader in delivering end-to-end mission solutions through the design, development, integration, production and operation of space, missile defense, and launch systems for national security, civil government, commercial and international customers. Major products include satellites and spacecraft systems, subsystems, sensors and payloads; ground systems; missile defense systems and interceptors; and launch vehicles and related propulsion systems. Approximately 45 percent of this business is performed through restricted programs. Key programs include:

•63-inch diameter Graphite Epoxy Motor (GEM 63) and the extended length variation (GEM 63XL) solid rocket boosters used to provide lift capability for the ATLAS V and Vulcan launch vehicles;

•Space Development Agency (SDA) Tracking and Transport layers providing missile warning/tracking and resilient, low-latency, high-volume data transport communication systems;

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•Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) Cooperative Development producing interceptor capability to defeat hypersonic threats;

•Cygnus spacecraft, used in the execution of our Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contracts with NASA to resupply and re-boost the International Space Station;

•Missile defense systems, interceptors, targets, mission processing and boosters for the Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) Ground-based Midcourse Defense Weapon Systems (GWS);

•Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module in support of NASA’s Lunar Gateway;

•Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) program satellites and payloads providing resilient and enhanced missile warning over the critical northern polar region;

•Development and production of solid rocket motors for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) heavy lift vehicle; and

•Medium-class solid rocket motors for the U.S. Navy's Trident II Fleet Ballistic Missile program.

CUSTOMER CONCENTRATION

Our largest customer is the U.S. government. Sales to the U.S. government accounted for 84 percent, 87 percent and 86 percent of sales during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. For further information on sales by customer type, contract type and geographic region, see Note 15 to the consolidated financial statements. See “Risk Factors” for further discussion regarding risks related to customer concentration.

COMPETITIVE CONDITIONS

We compete with many companies in the defense, intelligence and federal civil markets, including The Boeing Company, General Dynamics Corporation, L3Harris Technologies, Inc., Lockheed Martin Corporation, and RTX Corporation, as well as, increasingly, new entrants and startups. Key characteristics of our industry include long operating cycles and intense competition, which is evident through the number of competitors bidding on program opportunities and the number of competitor protests of U.S. government procurement awards.

It is common in the defense industry for work on major programs to be shared among a number of companies. A company competing to be a prime contractor may, upon ultimate award of the contract to another competitor, serve as a subcontractor to the ultimate prime contracting company. It is not unusual to compete for a contract award with a peer company and, simultaneously, perform as a supplier to or a customer of that same competitor on other contracts, or vice versa.

SEASONALITY

No material portion of our business is seasonal.

BACKLOG

At December 31, 2025, total backlog, which is equivalent to the company’s remaining performance obligations, was $95.7 billion as compared with $91.5 billion at December 31, 2024. For further information, see “Backlog” in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” (MD&A) and Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

We protect our technological innovations using a combination of trade secrets, patents, trademarks, and copyrights. We routinely apply for patents related to the technologies we develop in the U.S. and in certain foreign jurisdictions. We license some intellectual property rights to third parties and we also license or otherwise obtain access to intellectual property from third parties. The U.S. government typically holds licenses to patents developed in the performance of U.S. government contracts and may use or authorize others to use the inventions covered by these patents for certain purposes. See “Risk Factors” for further discussion regarding risks related to intellectual property.

RAW MATERIALS

We have experienced challenges with access to certain raw materials due to macroeconomic factors and several global events such as inflation, geopolitical conflicts and microelectronics shortages. In some cases, these challenges have significantly increased the cost and/or lead time required to obtain certain raw materials. Nonetheless, these challenges have not, to date, materially impacted our ability to perform on our contracts. See “Risk Factors” for further discussion regarding risks related to raw materials.

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HUMAN CAPITAL

Underpinned by our values and culture, we hire, promote, and pay based on merit and performance to help ensure we have the best team to deliver for our customers. Our focus on technology, innovation and career growth enables us to attract qualified talent, particularly those with security clearances and requisite skills in multiple areas, including science, technology, engineering and math. Our differentiated culture and workforce was a factor in our ability to hire approximately 7,500 new employees in 2025, and as of December 31, 2025, we have approximately 95,000 employees.

Our Values and Culture

Our values reflect our priorities and form the bedrock of our culture:

•We do the right thing – we earn trust, act with ethics, integrity and transparency, treat everyone with respect and value diverse perspectives.

•We do what we promise – we own the delivery of results, focused on quality outcomes.

•We commit to shared success – we work together to focus on the mission and take accountability for the sustainable success of our people, customers, shareholders, suppliers and communities.

•We pioneer – with fierce curiosity, dedication and innovation, we seek to solve the world’s most challenging problems.

Our culture and values serve as an enabling force that helps us pioneer, perform and deliver on quality, which results in value for our shareholders, customers, and employees. We actively seek candidates for employment from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences to tap into the full spectrum of talent available now and in the future to create a culture of belonging for everyone.

Talent Management

Our talent strategy is designed to secure the people, skills, and leadership required to support the company’s long term growth. It is anchored in recruiting and deploying talent, building a future-ready workforce and engaging our employees.

We attract, develop, and retain top critical talent while preparing our workforce for the future by increasing expertise in critical technology areas. We focus on talent readiness to ensure a robust pipeline of employees with the skills and expertise necessary to support our business and provide business continuity. We employ a mix of on-the-job training and development, in-person training and virtual curated career-specific resources that allow employees to personalize their development. We encourage all employees, regardless of level, to cultivate leadership skills, enabled by our leadership development platform. Talent review discussions are built into our operational cadence with an emphasis on providing the experience needed to accelerate development.

As part of our employee experience focus, we offer flexible work arrangements, caregiver support and mental health services that help our employees make their careers work within their lives and help them build the careers that will serve them in the future. To help ensure our employees have the tools and resources necessary to align with industry transformation and workforce expectations, we continue to adapt our ways of working and implement technology that enhances the employee experience.

Employee Health and Safety

Training and risk/hazard identification, mitigation and prevention are key components of Northrop Grumman’s safety program. Everyone has a responsibility to identify workplace hazards, and employees may raise concerns without fear of reprisal. We evaluate the effectiveness of our health and safety programs by conducting trend analyses of our past performance and externally through benchmarking with industry peers and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Collective Agreements

Approximately 4,300 employees are covered by 15 collective agreements in the U.S., of which we negotiated seven renewals in 2025 and expect to negotiate two renewals in 2026.

See “Risk Factors” for further discussion regarding risks related to our workforce and employee relations.

REGULATORY MATTERS

Government Contract Security Restrictions

We are prohibited by the U.S. government from publicly discussing the details of classified programs. These programs are generally referred to as “restricted” in this Annual Report. The consolidated financial statements and

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financial information in this Annual Report reflect the operating results of our entire company, including restricted programs.

Contracts

We generate the majority of our business from long-term contracts with the U.S. government for development, production and support activities. Unless otherwise specified in a contract, allowable and allocable costs are billed to contracts with the U.S. government pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and U.S. government Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), which are regulations that govern cost accounting requirements for government contracts. Examples of costs incurred by us and not billed to the U.S. government in accordance with applicable FAR and CAS requirements include, but are not limited to, unallowable employee compensation, charitable donations, interest expense, advertising, and certain legal and travel costs.

We monitor our contracts on a regular basis for compliance with our policies and procedures and applicable government laws and regulations. In addition, costs incurred and allocated to contracts with the U.S. government are routinely audited by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA).

Our long-term contracts typically fall into one of two contract types:

Cost-type contracts – Cost-type contracts include cost plus fixed fee, cost plus award fee and cost plus incentive fee contracts. Cost-type contracts generally provide for reimbursement of a contractor’s allowable costs incurred plus fee. As a result, cost-type contracts have less financial risk associated with unanticipated cost growth but generally provide lower profit margins than fixed-price contracts. Cost-type contracts typically require that the contractor use its best efforts to accomplish the scope of work within some specified time and stated dollar limitation. Fees on cost-type contracts can be fixed in terms of dollar value or can be variable due to award and incentive fees, which are generally based on performance criteria such as cost, schedule, quality and/or technical performance. Award fees are determined and earned based on customer evaluation of the company’s performance against contractual criteria. Incentive fees are generally based on cost or schedule and provide for an initially negotiated fee to be adjusted later, based on the relationship of total allowable costs to total target costs or as schedule milestones are met.

Fixed-price contracts – Firm fixed-price contracts include a specified scope of work for a price that is a pre-determined, negotiated amount and not typically subject to adjustment regardless of costs incurred by the contractor, absent changes by the customer. As a result, fixed-price contracts typically have more financial risk associated with unanticipated cost growth, but provide the opportunity for higher profit margins. Certain fixed-price incentive fee contracts provide for reimbursement of the contractor’s allowable costs plus a fee up to a cost ceiling amount, typically through a cost-sharing ratio that affects profitability. These contracts effectively become firm fixed-price contracts once the cost-share ceiling is reached. Time-and-materials contracts are considered fixed-price contracts as they specify a fixed hourly rate for each labor hour charged.

Profit margins on our contracts may vary materially depending on, among other things, the contract type, contract phase (e.g., development, low-rate production or mature production), negotiated fee arrangements, achievement of performance objectives, unexpected macroeconomic factors or other circumstances, and cost, schedule and technical performance.

See Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements and “Risk Factors” for further information regarding our contracts and Note 15 to the consolidated financial statements for sales by contract type.

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The following table summarizes sales for the year ended December 31, 2025, recognized by contract type and customer category:

(1)Sales to the U.S. government include sales from contracts for which we are the prime contractor, as well as those for which we are a subcontractor and the ultimate customer is the U.S. government. Each of the company’s segments derives a substantial percentage of its revenue from the U.S. government.

(2) International sales include sales from contracts for which we are the prime contractor, as well as those for which we are a subcontractor and the ultimate customer is an international customer. These sales include foreign military sales contracted through the U.S. government.

Environmental

Our operations are subject to and affected by federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations and enforcement actions relating to protection of human health and the environment. We have incurred and expect to continue to incur capital and operating costs to comply with applicable environmental laws and regulations and to achieve our environmental sustainability goals. See “Risk Factors” and Notes 1 and 11 to the consolidated financial statements for further information regarding environmental matters.

Our environmental sustainability goals help manage the environmental impact of our operations. We are focused on achieving Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in our operations (Scopes 1 and 2) by 2035, while also sourcing electricity from renewable sources and reducing our water withdrawals and solid waste footprint.

Additional information regarding our environmental sustainability goals is available in our Sustainability Report, which can be found on our company website.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

See “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance” for information about our executive officers.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

Our principal executive offices are located at 2980 Fairview Park Drive, Falls Church, Virginia 22042. Our telephone number is (703) 280-2900 and our home page is www.northropgrumman.com.

Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and proxy statement for the annual meeting of shareholders, as well as any amendments to those reports, are available free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we file them with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). You can learn more about us by reviewing our SEC filings on the investor relations page of our website.

The SEC also maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy statements and other information about SEC registrants, including Northrop Grumman Corporation.

References to our website and the SEC’s website in this report are provided as a convenience and do not constitute, and should not be viewed as, incorporation by reference of the information contained on, or available through, such websites. Such information should not be considered a part of this report, unless otherwise expressly incorporated by reference in this report.

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