“The Wall Street Journal” reports that Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC) plans to collaborate with Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) to propose lighter, more-flexible spy satellites to the US military and intelligence agencies.
The project, which was code-named "Trinidad" during development and expected to be announced on Wednesday, reflects Northrop's drive to move beyond being primarily a supplier of subsystems for government space programs into the more influential and potentially more profitable role as a prime contractor.
Northrop Grumman proposes to buy and modify several Israeli-built, high-resolution spy satellites, each costing less than $200 million, which is a fraction of what a larger, more complex US satellite would cost. The Israeli option would become operational long ahead of any larger, homegrown alternative. Israel is expected to launch the first version of its satellite, weighing about 800 pounds, later this year.
“The Wall Street Journal” said, “With about $1 billion of IAI and Israeli government funds invested in developing the satellite model, IAI said Northrop's experience with surveillance systems made it a ‘natural partner’."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on April 11, 2007
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