Does Northrop Grumman Corporation support Israel?

Northrop Grumman has partnered with Israel's state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems since 1995 to co-develop, co-produce and market the LITENING precision targeting pod: Rafael supplies the forward sensor section and Northrop Grumman builds the aft electronics section at Rolling Meadows, Illinois, and leads U.S. sales (thousands of pods delivered to the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and allied air forces). The partnership remains active through successive LITENING generations.

Northrop Grumman is a principal F-35 partner, producing the center fuselage and the AN/APG-81 radar for every F-35 — including Israel's F-35I "Adir" fleet, bought through U.S. government Foreign Military Sales largely funded by U.S. Foreign Military Financing. Northrop Grumman delivered the center fuselage for the first Israeli F-35 in November 2015 and continues supplying the fleet as it grows toward 75+ ordered jets. In the industrial-participation package tied to Israel's purchase, Israel's Elbit Systems-Cyclone manufactures composite center-fuselage components for Northrop Grumman under a seven-year agreement.

Israel acquired AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters (IAF name "Saraf") through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales process, with first deliveries in April 2005; the type's AN/APG-78 Longbow fire-control radar is built by Longbow LLC, a joint venture of Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin. Framed precisely: Boeing is the helicopter prime and the sale was government-to-government — Northrop Grumman's role is as radar co-producer through the JV. The IAF still operates about 20 AH-64Ds, and a $3.8 billion FMS case for 30 new AH-64Es (also Longbow-radar-equipped) was approved in 2026.

During the Gaza war, the U.S. State Department approved a $774.1 million Foreign Military Sale to Israel of 32,739 120mm tank cartridges (M1147 HEMP-T and/or M830A1 MPAT rounds), with Northrop Grumman Defense Systems (Falls Church, Virginia) and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems named as the principal contractors; deliveries are estimated to begin in 2027. Framed precisely: a government-to-government sale in which the U.S. government contracts the two companies to produce tank ammunition for Israel; the dollar figure is the estimated value of the entire case, not Northrop Grumman's share alone.

On Northrop Grumman's Q3 2023 earnings call, CEO Kathy Warden cited "the horrific attacks in Israel" among global tensions, said the company would continue its "steadfast support for the U.S. and its allies," and pointed to the administration's supplemental funding requests for Israel and Ukraine — including investments in weapons systems and defense industrial base readiness — as drivers of future demand. An executive statement positioning the company, not a donation.