CANBERRA, Australian Capital Territory – June 28, 2011 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has today announced the entry into a Global Supply Chain (GSC) Deed with the Australian Department of Defence in order to work together to identify opportunities for Australian industry to compete within the company's global supply chain and those of its major supply partners.
The deed is part of the GSC Program designed to assist entry by the Australian defence industry into global supply chains of multinational primes and provides the mechanism that will enable the Australian Government to fund Northrop Grumman to assist smaller Australian companies to compete for work within the corporation.
"Northrop Grumman recognizes that small and medium enterprises, or SMEs, face challenges in gaining access to the global supply chains of multinational corporations," said Wes Bush, chief executive officer and president. "The Australian Government's innovative approach ensures opportunities for SMEs to compete globally while giving prime manufacturers greater visibility into the talents and capabilities of innovative Australian companies."
The global supply chain deed concept was outlined in the Australian Government's 2010 Defence Industry Policy Statement and is, in part, in response to the continued globalization of the defence industry.
"International collaboration is very important and we are looking forward to assisting with this important initiative. We plan to work closely with the Australian Department of Defence to identify opportunities for Australian companies," said Bush.
Northrop Grumman has well-established relationships with Australia and other countries in the region, where it has been supporting a variety of both defence and civil programs for more than 20 years. The company is a key subcontractor for the Wedgetail AEW&C, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the F/A-18 Super Hornet programs.
Northrop Grumman
