Mike Leahy, a former executive at Northrop Grumman, will serve as head of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s tactical technology office, SpaceNews reported Wednesday.
DARPA Director and a 2019 Wash100 winner Steven Walker told the publication on Wednesday that Leahy will join the agency in late May to succeed Fred Kennedy, who was recently named head of the Department of Defense’s space development agency. Leahy, who will manage the Blackjack program at DARPA, served as program manager for the X-45A unmanned combat air vehicle platform.
The 27-year Air Force veteran held senior leadership roles at Northrop’s aerospace systems business and was responsible for several unmanned aircraft initiatives such as the Navy’s Triton and the Air Force’s Global Hawk.
