Northrop Vows Use of Classified Data

Northrop Corp. lawyers said in Los Angeles federal court Monday that they intend to defend the company against fraud charges by eliciting classified details of the mission and performance of the air-launched cruise missile.

Assistant U.S. Atty. William Fahey, the chief federal prosecutor in the case, said the tactic amounted to “graymail”--an effort to hamper or scuttle a prosecution by seeking documents that cannot be released for national security reasons.

At a hearing Monday, Northrop won a five-month delay in the trial, originally set for June 13, because of the complexity of the case. Trial was rescheduled for Nov. 14 before U.S. District Judge Pamela Rymer.

Northrop and four current and former employees are charged with failing to test key parts of stabilization systems for the Air Force air-launched cruise missile, which was made by Boeing Corp., and the Navy’s Harrier jet, manufactured by McDonnell Douglas Corp.

The issue of classified documents arose when one of Northrop’s attorneys, Brad Brian, sought a trial delay, saying he anticipated “disputes” over access to classified information.