Northrop Dinged by Both Army and Air Force on Quality Concerns
- Sixteen planes had landing gear parts incorrectly installed
- Contractor says it’s fixing flaws, has ‘commitment to quality’
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Quality control on Northrop Grumman Corp.’s multibillion-dollar weapons systems is under scrutiny after the U.S. Army discovered problems with the contractor’s antimissile system for helicopters and the Air Force voiced fresh concern over its upkeep of surveillance aircraft.
The Army issued a delinquency notice to Northrop in June, Bloomberg News has learned, citing “poor contract performance related to initial supply and quality concerns” during the ongoing development phase of a new $3 billion system to equip copters with a laser that can jam incoming shoulder-fired missiles.