RTX, a leading supplier of payloads, sensors, and components to the space industry, has announced that it will no longer compete to be a prime contractor in the field. Instead, the company will focus on its strengths as a supplier to other space primes. President and chief operating officer Chris Calio made this announcement during the company’s April 23 earnings call.
Calio explained that this shift was necessary given RTX’s expertise in those areas and emphasized that it was the right move for the company. Calio will be succeeding Greg Hayes as chairman and chief executive officer of RTX in May. This news comes after the company recently backed out of a fixed-price agreement to build seven missile tracking satellites for the Space Development Agency due to concerns over profitability. The SDA has removed those satellites from the planned constellation, relying instead on 28 other satellites already in production.
Before receiving the award for the missile tracking satellites, RTX had already begun to move away from its role as a space prime contractor. Last April, the company’s then-president of its space sector noted that this position had not yielded the desired results, prompting a shift in strategy. Calio also shared that RTX experienced losses of approximately $28 million on classified programs in the first quarter, with a timeframe of 12 to 18 months before those losses begin to decrease.
Despite these challenges, RTX remains committed to working through them and focusing on its strengths as a supplier to other companies in the space industry. The decision aligns with RTX’s strategic goals for future growth and success in this field.
