
Northrop Expanding Palmdale Manufacturing Facility for $80B B-21 Bomber Program
Northrop Grumman Corp. is expanding its footprint in Palmdale, CA in order to build the Air Force’s new B-21 bomber, called the “Raider.” Plans include adding one million square feet to the existing aircraft plant, a 50% increase.
The defense contractor won the bomber contract in 2015, though only recently has Northrup’s activity accelerated, following increased Air Force budgeting that’s hit $2 billion in this fiscal year. The re-emergence of aircraft manufacturing by the aerospace industry in SoCal is surprising, after it all but disappeared.
So far, Northrop has 3,000 employees at the Palmdale plant and continues to boost that number, eventually to 5,200 employees by late 2019. The factory is within the Air Force’s massive Plant 42 operation. The B-21 is envisioned as a replacement for the Air Force’s aging bomber fleet.
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