Introduction Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global security company that focuses on researching, designing, developing, manufacturing, and integrating advanced technology products and services ("LMT: Bloomberg Markets," n.d.). Lockheed Martin’s business encompasses space, telecommunications, electronics, information and services, aeronautics, energy, and systems integration ("LMT: Bloomberg Markets," n.d.). While Lockheed Martin operates worldwide, their headquarters is located in Bethesda, Maryland ("LMT: Bloomberg Markets," n.d.). Marillyn Hewson is the company’s Chairman, President, and CEO. Under her is Bruce Tanner who is the company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer ("LMT: Bloomberg Markets," n.d.). Following…show more content… Northrop Grumman, much like Lockheed Martin, is a leading global security company that provides innovative systems, unmanned aerospace systems, manned aerospace systems, cyber warfare products, and other various products that help with logistics and modernization of the federal government and commercial customers worldwide ("About Us," n.d.). Like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman’s key purchaser is the US federal government. In recent news, Northrop Grumman was awarded a contract with the US Air Force to build a next-generation Long Range Strike Bomber (Seligman, Clevenger, & Mehta, 2015). This contract is expected to top over $55 billion over the life of the program, making it the largest contract since Lockheed Martin was awarded the contract to the production of the F-35 (Seligman, Clevenger, & Mehta, 2015). The new bomber is expected to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of B-52’s and B-1’s. Building bombers is not something new for Northrop Grumman, as they have previously been awarded the prime contract holder for the B-2 stealth bomber back in the 1980’s. In order to win this contract, Northrop Grumman had to beat out a joint team of Boeing and Lockheed Martin (Seligman, Clevenger, & Mehta, 2015). Financially, Northrop Grumman has a Market Cap of 34.2 billion and an enterprise value of 38.82 billion (Yahoo2) (“NOC Key Statistics,” n.d.). Over the…show more content… Currently, the program has cost the US government 70 percent more than initial cost estimates ("F-35 Joint Strike Fighter," n.d.). The program is also years behind schedule, but top US officials claim that they are making progress. There are three variants of the F-35: the F-35A which is a conventional takeoff for the Air Force, an F-35B which is a short takeoff and vertical landing variant for the Marine Corps, and the F-35C which is an aircraft carrier-suitable variant for the Navy ("F-35 Joint Strike Fighter," n.d.). As of today, only the Marine Corps variant, the F-35B, has met the minimum requirements needed to be deployable in an operation (Browne,
