Northrop's ground game

The L.A.-based defense contractor, which normally sticks to the air and sea, now wants a chance to build as many as 140,000 vehicles to replace the basic Humvee. Northrop, which can supply a lot of the high-tech gizmos it uses on its planes and ships, is teaming up with Oshkosh Truck Corp., which has experience building military trucks. Competitors will include all the usual suspects - Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Boeing and General Dynamics - that are lining up their own teams. From the WSJ:

Northrop is entering a technically challenging competition: The Pentagon is seeking a light vehicle robust enough to withstand roadside bombs and with a price tag of less than $300,000 each. The Pentagon will begin winnowing the list of competitors this year, with the hopes of fielding the vehicles in the next decade. In a break with traditional development programs, the Pentagon is expecting the contractors to foot the bill for the research and development on their vehicles, to hold down costs and shorten the time it takes to get them in the field.

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The foray into this corner of the military market is a departure for Northrop, which built B-2 stealth bombers for the Air Force. Northrop, like some of its aerospace-oriented rivals, sees Army vehicle contracts as potentially lucrative new lines of business that it has yet to tap. Funding for programs tied to replacing or repairing military equipment worn out in Iraq and Afghanistan looks promising because there is an obvious, and urgent, need.