Made in San Diego
11 San Diego manufacturers


By Erin Chambers Smith, Adam Elder, Dave Good, Brandon Hernandez and Mike Senese


Northrop Grumman: Flying with No Hands

Founded: 1934 (as Ryan Aeronautical)
Employees: 5,000 in San Diego, 2,300 of them in the Aerospace Systems sector
Revenue: $33.8 billion sales (company-wide, 2009)
What’s next: On the record, Northrop Grumman plans further development in the Global Hawk family, and other nations are lining up to purchase. The company will also continue to focus on the miniaturization of unmanned aircraft technology, such as the Bat, and autonomous, unassisted aviation.

When people think of San Diego’s industries, defense contractors, biotech and action sports usually spring to mind. Overlooked, though, according to Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems sector vice president Jim Zortman, is the autonomous machine industry.
“San Diego is the center of the universe for unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs],â€