(Refiles to fix typo in headline to business from busines)
Dec 26 (Reuters) – Jeff Bezos-founded Blue Origin said on Friday it has hired Tory Bruno, the longtime CEO of United Launch Alliance, as president of its newly formed national security-focused unit.
Bruno will head the National Security Group and report to Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp and will lead the company’s national security business, the company said in a post on social media, underscoring its push to expand in U.S. defense and intelligence launch markets.
The hire brings one of the U.S. launch industry’s most experienced executives to Blue Origin as the company works to challenge the dominance of SpaceX and win a larger share of lucrative U.S. military and intelligence launch contracts.
The move comes days after Bruno stepped down from his role as CEO of ULA, the Boeing–Lockheed Martin joint venture that has long dominated U.S. national security space launches alongside Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
At ULA, Bruno oversaw the development of the Vulcan rocket, the company’s next-generation launch vehicle designed to replace its Atlas V and Delta IV rockets and secure future Pentagon contracts.
Blue Origin supplies ULA with its BE-4 engines for the Vulcan rocket, making the companies both key partners in propulsion and direct competitors in the U.S. launch market.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
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