Christopher Kubasik is chair and chief executive of L3Harris Technologies, one of the largest U.S. defense contractors, which builds intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems, military communications and tactical radios, electronic warfare, and space and missile sensors. A certified public accountant and former Ernst & Young partner, he spent decades in aerospace and defense finance and operations.
Kubasik's rise was interrupted in 2012, when an ethics investigation at Lockheed Martin confirmed he had carried on a long-term affair with a subordinate; he was forced to resign just before he was to become Lockheed's CEO. He rebuilt his career at L3 Technologies, engineered its 2019 'merger of equals' with Harris Corporation to create L3Harris, and became CEO in 2021 and chair in 2022.
Under Kubasik, L3Harris acquired rocket-propulsion maker Aerojet Rocketdyne for about $4.7 billion in 2023 and positioned itself as a disruptive sixth prime contractor. The company guided to roughly $22 billion in revenue in 2025 and won significant work on the Trump administration's Golden Dome missile-defense initiative, while Kubasik served as 2025 chair of the Aerospace Industries Association, the arms industry's main trade group.
What they control
- L3Harris Technologies, as chair and CEO of a defense prime with roughly $22 billion in annual revenue
- Dominant supply of U.S. military tactical radios and battlefield communications
- ISR, electronic-warfare, night-vision, and space and missile-sensor systems
- Aerojet Rocketdyne, a key supplier of solid rocket motors and propulsion for missiles and space launch
- A leading role in the Golden Dome missile-defense buildout
- Influence over industry policy as 2025 chair of the Aerospace Industries Association
Key institutions & holdings
Formed by the 2019 L3-Harris merger; ~$22B revenue guidance in 2025.
Acquired for ~$4.7 billion in 2023; rocket motors and propulsion, ~$8.3B backlog.
Leads the main U.S. aerospace and defense trade and lobbying group.
Key facts
- Born in 1961; a CPA and former Ernst & Young partner; magna cum laude graduate of the University of Maryland (1983).
- Chair and CEO of L3Harris, a top-tier U.S. defense prime created by the 2019 L3-Harris merger.
- Forced to resign as Lockheed Martin's incoming CEO in 2012 after an ethics probe confirmed an affair with a subordinate.
- Led L3Harris's roughly $4.7 billion acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne in 2023.
- L3Harris guided to about $22 billion in revenue in 2025 and won Golden Dome missile-defense work.
- Served as 2025 chair of the Aerospace Industries Association.
Timeline
- 2010Becomes president and COO of Lockheed Martin.
- 2012-11Resigns from Lockheed Martin after an ethics probe confirms an affair with a subordinate, before becoming CEO.
- 2015-10Joins L3 Technologies.
- 2019-06L3 and Harris merge to form L3Harris; Kubasik becomes president and COO.
- 2021-06Becomes CEO of L3Harris (and chair in 2022).
- 2023L3Harris acquires Aerojet Rocketdyne for about $4.7 billion.
Controversies
Forced resignation from Lockheed Martin · 2012
In 2012 an ethics investigation confirmed Kubasik had a long-term extramarital affair with a subordinate, and Lockheed's board obtained his resignation just before he was to become CEO.
Defense consolidation and the Aerojet deal · 2023
L3Harris's 2023 purchase of Aerojet Rocketdyne concentrated solid-rocket-motor supply that competitors also rely on; the FTC imposed conditions intended to preserve competition.
Profiting from the missile-defense buildout · 2025
As head of a major arms maker and 2025 chair of the Aerospace Industries Association, Kubasik sits at the center of defense-industry lobbying as U.S. spending on programs like Golden Dome surges.
Network
- William M. BrownPredecessorFormer Harris and L3Harris chairman/CEO who preceded Kubasik atop the merged company.
- U.S. Department of DefensePrimary customerThe Pentagon is L3Harris's largest customer across communications, ISR, and missiles.
- Aerojet RocketdyneAcquired companyRocket-propulsion maker bought in 2023, now a core L3Harris segment.
- Aerospace Industries AssociationIndustry bodyKubasik chaired the arms industry's main trade group in 2025.
Why this matters
L3Harris is one of a handful of prime contractors that build the communications, sensors, electronic warfare, and rocket propulsion the U.S. military depends on, funded by tens of billions of taxpayer dollars. Through the Aerojet Rocketdyne acquisition it became a chokepoint supplier of solid rocket motors used in missiles across the industry, and Kubasik's perch atop both L3Harris and the main aerospace trade group gives him outsized sway over defense priorities like the Golden Dome missile shield. Concentrating so much of the arms-supply base under one firm raises questions about competition, cost, and how defense budgets are set.