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Northrop Grumman

ApplicationFalls Church, VA, USAFounded 1994· One of 676 Application companies tracked by AMPulse

A global aerospace and defense prime contractor that designs, develops, and manufactures advanced systems, leveraging additive manufacturing for critical components in space, missile, and aircraft programs.

CEO / Founder
Kathy Warden
Team Size
5001-10000
Stage
Public
Latest Round
Grant
Key Investors
U.S. Department of Defense; NASA

Technology & Products

Key Products

Spacecraft structures and components; Solid rocket motors and propulsion systems; Advanced aircraft structures; Hypersonic weapon systems; Satellite buses and payloads

Technological Advantage

Over 20 years of AM experience with a focus on qualifying processes for extreme environments, protected by patents like the 3D carbon fiber printing invention. This process and material expertise, combined with large-scale production capacity and defense-grade quality systems, creates a high barrier to entry for competitors.

Patent position

Northrop Grumman’s Equipment focus share fell from 95% to 83%. It filed 74 patent families across all years, versus 64 for Lockheed Martin. AMPulse analysis

Filing momentum
6 families filed 2022–2024, 49 in 2019–2021
Focus, 2019–2021 → 2022–2024
Equipment 95% → 83%
Filed in
US 45%EP 30%WO 24%JP 1%
Named competitors, AM patent families
Lockheed Martin 64

74 AM patent families in total. Recent years are still being published, so read a filing change against the same-office figure.

Differentiation

Value Proposition

Accelerates development cycles and reduces costs for complex defense and space systems by integrating AM to produce flight-ready components, achieving up to 90% cost and time savings on specific parts.

How They Differentiate

As an AM *applicator*, Northrop Grumman competes on system integration and qualification, not printer sales. It differentiates through its extensive in-house AM production capacity, deep vertical integration for defense programs, and proven ability to qualify AM parts for critical space and missile applications, which newer AM bureaus or pure-play manufacturers cannot easily replicate.

Market & Competition

Target Customers

U.S. Department of Defense, NASA, allied governments, commercial aerospace companies

Industry Verticals

Aerospace; Defense; Space

Competitors

Lockheed Martin; Raytheon Technologies; Boeing

Growth & Milestones

Growth Metrics

Q1 2026 revenue reached $9.9 billion, up 4% year-over-year.

Major Milestones

1994: Merger of Northrop Corporation and Grumman Corporation; Over 20 years of additive manufacturing experience in space systems; 2024/2025: Installation of AMCM M4K-4 large-format metal printer via Oerlikon partnership; 2026: MOA with Hanwha Aerospace for solid rocket booster development

Notable Customers

U.S. Air Force; NASA; U.S. Space Force; Royal Australian Air Force

https://www.northropgrumman.com

AM patents

AM-relevant patents linked to this company.

Patents
75
Granted
30
Families
74

Leading domains: process (75), equipment (52), material (17)

Filings by year: 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 5 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 24

  1. METHODS FOR DEPOSITION AND FABRICATION OF 3D INTEGRATED COMPOSITE STRUCTURES2020210051 · WO
  2. INLET MANIFOLD FOR A LAMINAR GAS FLOW IN A LASER POWDER BED FUSION SYSTEM4377090 · EP
  3. PRINTING MACHINE FOR FABRICATING 3D INTEGRATED COMPOSITE STRUCTURES AND HAVING A MULTIPLE EXTRUDER MODULE2020210056 · WO
  4. ULTRASONIC DEVICE FOR COMPACTION ALLOWING COORDINATED ACTUATION AND MOTION OF MULTIPLE ULTRASONIC COMPACTION HORNS2023019035 · WO
  5. ULTRASONIC DEVICE FOR COMPACTION ALLOWING COORDINATED ACTUATION AND MOTION OF MULTIPLE ULTRASONIC COMPACTION HORNS20230046067 · US