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Northrop (NOC) Wins Contract to Aid Marine Sensor System

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Northrop Grumman Corp.’s (NOC - Free Report) business unit, Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., recently secured a contract for procuring 12 items to support the WSN-7 ship inertial navigation system (INS). The award has been offered by the Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Mechanicsburg, PA.

Valued at $12.5 million, this contract is expected to be completed by June 2028. Work related to this deal will be executed in Charlottesville, VA.

Marine Sensors & Northrop

In maritime warfare, sensors play a critical role in detecting and engaging an adversary. With rapid technological advancement over time, the application of sensor technology nowadays ranges from detecting and tracking enemy ships and submarines to searching for and locating mines, discerning lethal environments and tracking ballistic missiles.

To this end, it is imperative to mention that Northrop’s Mission Systems business segment manufactures navigation and positioning sensors for a range of platforms, including naval ships. The company is a leading partner of the U.S. Navy in navigating, positioning and sensing systems. Its AN/WSN 7 is the U.S. Navy Program of Record for INS on all surface combatants equipped with AEGIS weapons systems (Ticonderoga-class missile cruisers; Arleigh Burke-class destroyers), all Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, among other U.S. and allied vessels.

Moreover, its AN/WSN 7A is the U.S. Navy Program of Record for all Los Angeles-class, Sea Wolf-class and Virginia-class submarines.

The aforementioned discussion surely reflects the solid demand that Northrop’s marine sensors enjoy in the defense space, which must have been ushering in notable contract flows for the company from Pentagon, like the latest one. Such contract wins can be expected to bolster Northrop’s revenue generation prospects in the coming quarters.

Growth Prospects

In a bid to safeguard their borders from hostile attacks amid worldwide geopolitical instability, nations have been rapidly increasing their defense spending. Investments in sea warfare capabilities for both defense and offensive proposes have significantly gained traction.

Consequently, the market for marine sensors holds significant growth opportunities. In this context, the Fortune Business Insights firm expects the global marine sensors market to witness a CAGR of 4.8% during 2022-2029.

Such market growth opportunities should benefit Northrop, which already enjoys a solid position in this space. Impressively, to further expand its strength in this market, NOC has lately brought in the new AN/WSN-12 inertial sensor module, which is a next-generation sensor that significantly improves maritime navigation in Global Positioning System (GPS) denied environments for surface ships and submarines.

Peer Opportunities

Other prominent defense contractors that have an established position in the global marine sensor market and thus are expected to reap the benefits of this expanding market space have been discussed below.

RTX Corp (RTX - Free Report) : The company is one of the leading U.S.-based sensor manufacturers. Its product portfolio includes AN/AQS-20, which is an advanced mine-hunting sonar system that has been designated as the mine-hunting sonar for the Littoral Combat Ship's mine countermeasure mission package.

The stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 9.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RTX’s 2023 sales implies a 10.5% improvement from the 2022 reported figure.

General Dynamics (GD - Free Report) : The company designs and develops high-performance underwater sensors to gather data from the sea domain. Its Undersea Distributed Network reliably delivers the power and data required for undersea operations, including oil and gas exploration and production, military missions and scientific applications.

The stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 9%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GD’s 2023 sales implies a 9.1% improvement from the 2022 reported figure.

L3Harris Technologies (LHX - Free Report) : The company has a proven track record of providing innovative, affordable solutions to meet U.S. Navy sensor requirements. Its product portfolio includes a twin-line TL-29A towed array, which is a passive, low-frequency sensor system towed by the Stalwart-class Auxiliary General Ocean Surveillance Ships (T-AGOS) and designed particularly to detect and track extremely quiet diesel-electric submarines.

The stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 3.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LHX’s 2023 sales implies 12.6% growth from the 2022 reported figure.

Price Movement and Zacks Rank

Shares of Northrop have risen 12.4% in the past three months compared with the industry's 5.4% growth.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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