After skipping Farnborough in 2012 Northrop Grumman will also be absent from the Paris Air Show this year. The company said it prefers to invest its marketing efforts in growing markets in the Oceania and the Middle East. According to Reuters, Northrop’s move is part of its overall drive to reduce costs as the U.S. defense industry girds for tighter budgets after a decade of sharp growth.
Northrop, one of the five biggest U.S. defense contractors, also skipped the Farnborough international air show outside London last year, calling the move part of its drive to cut costs and prepare for leaner times in the global defense market. Weapons makers generally spend around $4 to $5 million to participate in a big air show.
Lockheed Martin Corp has also scaled back its spending on air shows in recent years, reducing the number of executives it sends and relying more on local employees. But the No. 1 Pentagon supplier still plans to participate in the Paris show this year, said spokeswoman Jennifer Whitlow. “We continue to look for ways to reduce our costs, but we do think the air show is an important opportunity to talk with our customers about their national security needs,” she said.
