Northrop Grumman Corp. said Tuesday that it has appointed Chief Financial Officer Wesley Bush as its new chief operating officer, a position that has served as the spring board into the chief executive suite.

Bush joined Northrop in 2002 as part of the company’s acquisition of TRW Inc. and will follow in the footsteps of current Chief Executive Ronald Sugar, who was chief operating officer prior to becoming head of the defense contractor in 2003. The move makes Bush the likely choice to succeed Sugar when he chooses to step down.

However, Sugar, who is 58, said last summer he plans to stay at Northrop for “quite a while” and added that he would work with Bush as a team.

Northrop also named James Palmer the company’s new chief financial officer. Palmer, who was head of Boeing Capital Corp., most recently served in the same position at auto-parts maker Visteon Corp.

Shares in Northrop were up 21 cents to $74.61 in afternoon trading Tuesday.