Northrop Grumman CEO Chris Deeble has the tools for the future

After overseeing multibillion-dollar programs for the commonwealth, Air Vice-Marshal (R’td) Chris Deeble has now set his sights on turning Northrop Grumman Australia (NGA) into one of the country’s top five Defence contractors.

Northrop Grumman Australia chief executive Chris Deeble with the MQ-4C Triton. Picture: Jane Dempster/The Australian.

After successfully overseeing complex, multibillion-dollar programs for the commonwealth, Air Vice-Marshal (R’td) Chris Deeble has now set his sights on turning Northrop Grumman Australia (NGA) into one of the country’s top five Defence contractors by turnover in the next four years.

In meeting this challenge he can draw on the skills and experience accrued over 37 years with the RAAF, initially as a navigator on Canberra and F-111C strike aircraft, and ultimately heading the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter, E-7A Wedgetail Early Warning and Control, KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker/Transport, and — a change of element — Collins-class submarine sustainment programs.

Wrapping up his RAAF service as program executive for the OneSKY civil-military air traffic management system, the affable 62-year-old joined NGA as chief executive in April 2019.

Moving to industry “was always going to be the bookend of my career, to see capability development and delivery from the other side”, he comments.

“The one thing I’ve found is that the values that drive Defence in terms of getting the right capability for the ADF are also inherent in industry. People often think industry is driven by profit above all; that is not what I’ve experienced.”

In what Deeble describes as a critical development, NGA adopted a new operating model in January bringing profit and loss accountability in-country under Northrop Grumman’s general manager Asia-Pacific Christine Zeitz, who reports to the US parent company at the sector level.

His own role he describes as complementary, looking to the future and new growth opportunities for the company, and NGA specifically.

“Christine has a deep industry understanding and is masterful in her approach to the business side of the house. My strength is my Defence background and looking strategically at the capability need for the ADF, and how they need to be integrated together,” he says.

“We can reach back to the world-class technologies sitting in Northrop Grumman and start to think about what that means for Australia, how it needs to be adapted for Australia, and offer best-of-breed solutions to Defence’s most difficult problems. That is the role that I’m really enjoying.”

Historically, NGA has imported high-end technical capabilities into Australia — the Multi-Role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar for the Wedgetail AEW & C aircraft, the Litening advanced targeting pod and the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system are three such examples.

The company has additionally developed a significant sustainment and modernisation organisation handling the RAAF’s Special Purpose aircraft fleet, KC-30A multi-role tanker/transports, and C-27J Spartan tactical airlifters. This portfolio is likely to be boosted with the anticipated arrival in Australia in 2023 of the first of what will eventually be six Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton high-altitude long-endurance unmanned surveillance aircraft.

The company currently employs about 750 personnel, a figure which varies depending on the level of contractor support in maintenance and other activities.

Moving from 13th to fifth place on the Australian Defence Magazine’s listing of Defence companies’ turnover would require NGA, on 2020 figures, to more than double its $353m result.

“Clearly, where we’re focused now is on delivering complex and architected systems of systems capability for the ADF and being seen as a very viable and enduring Australian prime systems integrator and strategic partner for Defence moving forward,” Deeble says.

“What we’ve tried to do in the past two years is build all the infrastructure, the processes and procedures around what it would take to be a prime systems integrator and deliver capability reliably and with agility to Defence.

“And that includes our Parallax Labs which provide multiple perspectives on complex problems.

“ The labs focus on our primary priorities in-country, which will be utilised to provide a collaborative environment to explore integrated air and missile defence under Air 6500 and the next generation Australian Defence SATCOM system under Joint Project 9102.

“These are two of the most complex Defence programs, ­requiring significant adaptation and architecting to meet the sovereign need.

“Other programs hang off that, like JP9347, which is the Joint Data Network capability in which we’re teamed with Boeing, and JP9111 joint command and ­control.”

Moving from the least-risk US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) channel to formulating proposals for technical release of advanced technologies that adapt best to Australian needs while remaining interoperable with the US presents challenges, Deeble points out.

“We’re going to have to leverage our Five-Eyes status with the US; we’re going to have to leverage the fact that we’ve been one of the US allies of choice having fought alongside the US for many, many years, and that, from a regional perspective, Australia will continue to be an important ally given the current strategic circumstances.

“However, we must look to expand this relationship into providing regional support for common capability, which will not only provide greater opportunities for Australian industry to provide in-country support to our own capability, but also support to the deployed US forces in the region”.

“Triton is an excellent example of this opportunity.

“This will also support building our sovereign industry capability and lead to opportunities to expand into manufacturing and development of key systems as a trusted second source for the US,” he says.

For someone whose career has been heavily involved with capability and sustainment, Deeble’s off-time interest in collecting and restoring old woodworking tools — “something which gives me great joy” — has an obvious connection.