Jones Breaks His Final Link With Northrop
Thomas V. Jones, the controversial executive who shaped Northrop Corp. over 39 years, severed his last link with the Century City aerospace firm when he left its board Tuesday.
Jones stepped down as chief executive in 1989 after a tumultuous decade in which Northrop won the Air Force contract to build the B-2 bomber but spent $1.2 billion of its own money on the unsuccessful F-20 jet fighter program.
In the process, Jones ended up in the hot seat, battling the Pentagon over acquisition strategy and defending against federal probes of a hotel deal intended to help sell aircraft in South Korea.
Looking back over his long career, Jones said in an interview Wednesday that his proudest achievement was successfully creating a strategy to use high-technology in improving the reliability, safety and cost effectiveness of military aircraft, particularly the T-38, F-5 and F-18.
The T-38 program, started in the early 1960s, will continue until 2020, he noted. As for the F-20, he conceded: “You can’t win them all.”
Jones remains active in the Nature Conservancy, a private environmental group, and in efforts to build a test flight museum at Edwards Air Force Base. He also owns and operates a vineyard that produces highly regarded wines.
