RTX, a leading provider of payloads, sensors, and components in the space industry, announced a shift in focus during its April 23 earnings call. President and Chief Operating Officer Chris Calio revealed that the company would be moving away from competing to be a prime contractor in the space field. Instead, RTX will emphasize its strengths as a supplier to other companies.
Calio highlighted the company’s existing strengths in these areas and described this shift as a pivot from being a space prime to being a component supplier. He also mentioned that RTX has historical strength in certain space areas and key components used in prime satellites and buses. The company will move away from the space prime role to become more of a component supplier.
Greg Hayes will be succeeded by Calio as chairman and chief executive officer of RTX in May. In March, RTX withdrew from a fixed-price agreement to build seven missile tracking satellites for the Space Development Agency due to profitability concerns. Director Derek Tournear confirmed that RTX-made components will still be used in satellites built by L3Harris and Northrop Grumman.
RTX had already been transitioning from the space prime role previously, with a focus on a merchant strategy. Despite facing headwinds in technical learning and testing, the company plans to overcome these obstacles. The shift towards becoming more of a component supplier is expected to bring new opportunities for growth and expansion for RTX in the future.