Curtiss-Wright Corporation, along with its subsidiaries, operates as a global integrated business that provides highly engineered products, solutions, and services mainly to aerospace and defense (A&D) markets, as well as critical technologies in demanding commercial power, process, and industrial markets.

The company maintains a unique presence on high-performance platforms and critical applications that require its technical sophistication, and it benefits from decades of engineering expertise and knowledge transfer.

Strategy

The company’s strategy is centered on a renewed drive for top-line acceleration through both organic and inorganic sales growth, building on the strengths across its A&D and commercial markets, while deepening and expanding its customer relationships by driving One Curtiss-Wright to its customers.

Business Segments

The company operates through three segments: Aerospace & Industrial, Defense Electronics, and Naval & Power.

Aerospace & Industrial

Sales in the Aerospace & Industrial segment are primarily generated from the general industrial and commercial aerospace markets and, to a lesser extent, the defense markets. The businesses in this segment provide a diversified offering of highly engineered products and services, including industrial and specialty vehicle products, such as power management electronics, traction inverters, transmission shifters, and control systems; sensors, controls, and electro-mechanical actuation components used on commercial and military aircraft; and surface technology services, such as shot peening, laser peening, and engineered coatings utilized in both commercial and defense end market applications. In the general industrial market, it has long-standing customer relationships and maintain a broad portfolio of products and services promoting efficiency, safety, reduced emissions, and longevity. Certain industrial businesses within the company’s Aerospace & Industrial segment are impacted primarily by general economic conditions, which may include consumer consumption or commercial construction rates, as the nature of their products and services primarily support global industrial, commercial vehicles, medical, and transportation industries. The commercial aerospace business is primarily impacted by OEM production rates of new aircraft, as well as emerging platforms, such as all-electric aircraft, while the defense business is primarily impacted by government funding and spending on new programs, primarily driven by the U.S. Government. The production and service processes rest primarily within material modification, machining, assembly, and testing and inspection at commercial grade specifications. The businesses distribute products through commercial sales and marketing channels.

Defense Electronics

Sales in the Defense Electronics segment are primarily to the defense markets, where the company supports government entities in aerospace defense, ground defense, and naval defense, and, to a lesser extent, the commercial aerospace market. The defense businesses in this segment provide a diversified offering of products, including COTS embedded computing board-level modules and processing equipment, data acquisition and flight test instrumentation equipment, integrated subsystems, instrumentation and control systems, tactical communications solutions for battlefield network management, and electronic stabilization products. The defense businesses within the company’s Defense Electronics segment are impacted primarily by government funding and spending, driven primarily by the U.S. Government, and supplemented by foreign defense spending (e.g. NATO countries). As a supplier of Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) based solutions, the company is aligned with the best-in-class open standards-based architectures with the industry. As a result, the company has varying degrees of platform-level content on fighter jets, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), ground combat equipment, tactical vehicles, and nuclear and non-nuclear surface ships and submarines, including a presence on more than 400 platforms and more than 3,000 programs over the past 10 years. Additionally, the company provides avionics and electronics, flight test equipment, and aircraft data management solutions to the commercial aerospace market. The company’s defense businesses supporting government contractors typically utilize more advanced and ruggedized production and service processes compared to the company’s commercial businesses and has more stringent specifications and performance requirements based on their support of key Department of Defense (DoD) priorities, such as cyber, security and the net-centric connected battlefield. The company’s businesses also benefit from outsourcing from defense primes (push towards affordability and standard open architecture), as well as its focus on total lifecycle management services and technology refreshes in defense electronics. The businesses in this segment typically market and distribute products through regulated government contracting channels.

Naval & Power

Sales in the Naval & Power segment are primarily to the naval defense and power & process markets and, to a lesser extent, the aerospace defense market. For the naval defense market, the company provides naval propulsion and auxiliary equipment, including main coolant pumps, power-dense compact motors, generators, steam turbines, valves, and secondary propulsion systems, primarily to the U.S. Navy, most notably supporting the Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarine programs, as well as the Ford-class aircraft carrier program. The company also provides ship repair and maintenance for the U.S. Navy’s Atlantic and Pacific fleets and naval industrial base through three service centers. The naval defense businesses in this segment are primarily impacted by government funding and spending on shipbuilding programs, primarily driven by the U.S. Government, and supplemented by foreign defense spending, particularly for the company’s aircraft handling equipment. For the aerospace defense market, the company provides aircraft arresting systems equipment, including energy absorbers, retractable hook cable systems, net-stanchion systems and mobile systems to support fixed land-based arresting systems. For the power & process markets, the company provides a diversified offering of products for commercial nuclear power plants and nuclear equipment manufacturers, including hardware, valves, fastening systems, specialized containment doors, airlock hatches, simulation equipment and spent fuel management products supporting the continued performance, safety and modernization of operating reactors worldwide, though the majority of the company’s products today support the maintenance of U.S. nuclear reactors. Outside of the U.S., the company principally supports operating reactors in Canada and South Korea. In the new build market, the company provides Reactor Coolant Pumps (RCPs) and control rod drive mechanisms for commercial nuclear power plants, most notably to support the Generation III+ Westinghouse AP1000 reactor design. The company is also actively engaged and pursuing business on numerous advanced Small Modular Reactor (SMR) designs which are anticipated to serve numerous purposes ranging from generating electricity or creating process heat for industrial applications, to powering data centers. In the Process market, the company furnishes specialized and innovative severe-service valve technologies and services, heat exchanger repair, and piping test and isolation products to the oil and gas, chemical, petrochemical and industrial markets worldwide. In addition, the company is developing critical subsea pumping technology for the oil and gas industry, leveraging the company’s experience and existing technology as a long-term producer of canned motor pumps for the U.S. nuclear Navy and commercial nuclear market. The businesses in this segment are dependent upon the need for ongoing maintenance, repair and overhaul of existing power plants, as well as the construction of new power plants globally, and typically market and distribute products through regulated or government contracting channels.

Government Sales

The company’s sales to the U.S. Government and foreign government end use represented 57% of total net sales during 2024.

Customers

The company has hundreds of customers in the various industries that it serves. Approximately 48% of the company’s total net sales for 2024, were derived from contracts with agencies of, and prime contractors to, the U.S. Government.

Patents

The company owns and licenses a number of United States and foreign patents and patent applications, which has been obtained or filed over a period of years. The company also licenses intellectual property to and from third parties. Specifically, the U.S. Government receives licenses to the company’s patents that are developed in performance of government contracts.

History

Curtiss-Wright Corporation was founded in 1929. The company was incorporated in 1929.