Share based compensation arrangement by share based payment award award grants percentage financial metric met exceeded.

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	noc_ShareBasedCompensationArrangementByShareBasedPaymentAwardAwardGrantsPercentageFinancialMetricMetExceeded
Namespace Prefix:	noc_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Aggregate carrying value as of the balance sheet date of the liabilities for deferred compensation arrangements payable within one year (or the normal operating cycle, if longer). Represents currently earned compensation under cash arrangements (such as a profit-sharing plan, rabbi trust, and employee contract--excluding equity-based arrangements) that is not actually paid until a later date.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 710
-SubTopic 10
-Section 25
-Paragraph 15
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=75028277&loc=d3e19793-108362

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 710
-SubTopic 10
-Section 30
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6409875&loc=d3e20028-108363

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DeferredCompensationCashBasedArrangementsLiabilityCurrent
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of cost not yet recognized for nonvested award under share-based payment arrangement.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 718
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (i)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116856206&loc=d3e5070-113901

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_EmployeeServiceShareBasedCompensationNonvestedAwardsTotalCompensationCostNotYetRecognized
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ShareBasedCompensationArrangementByShareBasedPaymentAwardLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	srt_RangeAxis=srt_MinimumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PlanNameAxis=noc_GrantsDuring2010AndAfterMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_RangeAxis=srt_MaximumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_AwardTypeAxis=noc_CashUnitsAndCashPerformanceUnitsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Stock Compensation Plans Cash Awards (Details 3) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Share-based Compensation by Share-based Payment Award
Share-based Payment Arrangement, Nonvested Award, Cost Not yet Recognized, Amount	$ 101
Minimum \| Grants During 2010 and After [Member]
Share-based Compensation by Share-based Payment Award
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award Award Grants Percentage Financial Metric Met Exceeded	0.00%
Maximum [Member] \| Grants During 2010 and After [Member]
Share-based Compensation by Share-based Payment Award
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award Award Grants Percentage Financial Metric Met Exceeded	200.00%
Cash Units and Cash Performance Units [Member]
Share-based Compensation by Share-based Payment Award
Share-based Payment Arrangement, Nonvested Award, Cost Not yet Recognized, Amount	$ 133
Cash Units and Cash Performance Units [Member] \| Minimum
Share-based Compensation by Share-based Payment Award
Deferred Compensation Cash-based Arrangements, Liability, Current	36	$ 36	$ 38
Cash Units and Cash Performance Units [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Share-based Compensation by Share-based Payment Award
Deferred Compensation Cash-based Arrangements, Liability, Current	$ 203	$ 205	$ 201