What happened
The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on Northrop Grumman Corp.'s request to reopen and set aside a final consent order tied to the company's 2018 acquisition of aerospace and defense contractor Orbital ATK.
The agency said the December 2018 order resolved FTC allegations that the transaction was anticompetitive. The order requires Northrop Grumman to supply solid rocket motors, or SRMs, to competitors on a nondiscriminatory basis.
The order also imposes information-protection obligations, requiring Northrop Grumman to keep the operation of its SRM business separate from the rest of the company through a firewall. According to the FTC, the order allows the Department of War to appoint a compliance officer to oversee Northrop Grumman's compliance and related reporting requirements.
Northrop Grumman's petition contends that the order is no longer needed to preserve competition and that keeping it in place is not in the public interest, the FTC said.
The public has until May 4, 2026, to submit comments on the petition through Regulations.gov. After the comment period closes, the Commission will vote on how to resolve Northrop Grumman's request.