Northrop Secures Deal to Support E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Jets

Northrop Grumman Corp.’s NOC business unit, Northrop Grumman Systems, recently clinched a modification contract involving its E-2D Advanced Hawkeye jets. The award has been provided by the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD.

Details of NOC’s Deal

Per the terms of the deal, Northrop will procure two installation data packages for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Fatigue Article Test and Teardown.

Valued at $11.6 million, the contract is anticipated to be completed in April 2028. The majority of the work related to this contract will be executed in Malborne, FL, and Bethpage, NY.

What Comes Next for NOC Stock?

Escalating military conflicts, coupled with rapid technological advancements in combat aircraft, are driving nations to boost defense spending on military jets, which remain a vital component of their aerial defense strategy. This is likely to have prompted the Mordor Intelligence firm to forecast a compound annual growth rate of 4.7% for the global military aviation market during the 2025-2030 period.

Such growth prospects should benefit Northrop, a pioneer in the development of military aircraft. The company's product line includes a wide range of defense aircraft like E-2C Hawkeye 2000, E-130J TACAMO, F-5 Tiger and B-2 Spirit Stealth.  

In particular, Northrop's E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft provides combat management, air and missile defense and multiple sensor fusion capabilities in an airborne system. These features enhance warfighters’ battlespace awareness, particularly in information operations.

Such advanced capabilities must have been driving strong demand for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, further reflected in recent contract wins, and are expected to continue supporting steady revenue growth for NOC in the future.

Opportunities for Other Aerospace Stocks

Other aerospace companies that are likely to benefit from the expanding global military aviation market are discussed below:

The Boeing Company BA: The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of the most advanced aircraft in the combat market, which includes F/A-18 Super Hornet, F-15EX, CH-47 Chinook, Chinook Block II and EA-18G Growler.

Boeing boasts a long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate of 17.9%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 sales suggests an improvement of 28.8%.

Lockheed Martin Corp. LMT: The company is among the leaders in the combat aircraft space, with its product portfolio constituting some of the most advanced military aircraft, such as the F-35 Lightning II, F-21, F-22 Raptor and F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Lockheed boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 10.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 sales implies an increase of 4.5%.

Embraer S.A. ERJ: The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of the most advanced aircraft in the combat market, which includes the A-29 Super Tucano and the KC-390 Millennium military multi-mission aircraft.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ERJ’s 2025 sales indicates growth of 16.1%. The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 103.70% in the last four quarters.

NOC Stock Price Movement

In the past three months, Northrop shares have risen 19% compared with the industry’s growth of 6.7%.

NOC’s Zacks Rank

Northrop 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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