Northrop tries selling Pentagon on power of technology

Northrop Grumman, known for military platforms such as amphibious assault ships and the B-2 stealth bomber, demonstrated to reporters its interest in selling the Pentagon on the idea of substituting technology for manpower.

According to a C4I News report, the company saw "ways in which we think technology can probably play a greater role" in national defense, said Robert Haffa, corporate director of the Northrop Grumman Analysis Center, during a briefing with reporters last month. C4I News said Northrop Grumman officials made few references to specific defense programs during the briefing.

Northrop's efforts are taking place as the Pentagon prepares its next Quadrennial Defense Review, a congressionally mandated study that will have a wide-ranging impact on Pentagon strategy and procurement planning for the next several years.

According to C4I News, the Northrop briefing addressed ways in which technology could support the four core national security challenges the QDR is supposed to address: fighting terrorism, boosting homeland security, containing weapons of mass destruction and deterring future competitors.

"We looked at the four problems of the QDR, we analyzed them with a lot of help from other sources, we thought we found four areas that cut across those problems that could add value to those, and we are on [the] way to suggesting solutions spaces for that capability mix," Haffa said in the C4I News report.