Investors propelled Northrop Grumman shares higher after President Trump unveiled plans for a $1.5 trillion defense budget in 2027, up 50 percent from the prior $1 trillion proposal. The stock advanced 2.39 percent on heavy trading volume, outperforming the S&P 500. Contributing to the rally was the award of a $94 million U.S. Navy contract for advanced surveillance radar upgrades, marking NOC’s third major naval win in six months. Analysts at Morgan Stanley raised their one-year price target by 8 percent, citing improved free cash flow projections driven by higher defense allocations and contract backlogs approaching $75 billion.

Northrop Grumman secured a competitive award from the U.S. Marine Corps to develop the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Uncrewed Expeditionary Tactical Aircraft Collaborative Combat Aircraft, in partnership with Kratos Defense. The program leverages Northrop’s open-architecture Prism autonomy software and a modular mission kit featuring multi-spectral sensors, enabling both kinetic and non-kinetic effects. Following more than 20 successful flight demonstrations in operationally relevant scenarios, the joint solution promises low-risk delivery and rapid deployment. This win cements NOC’s leadership in uncrewed systems and strengthens its order backlog by an estimated $350 million over the next two years.