L3Harris executives say company will maintain 4% investment in research and development

The top executives at L3Harris Technologies said today the company plans to continue spending about 4% of its annual sales on research and development "for the foreseeable future."

Speaking at an investor day today, Chris Kubasik, L3Harris' president and chief operating officer, said the contractor is investing in spectrum superiority, actionable intelligence and warfighter effectiveness.

Bill Brown, L3Harris' chief executive, said he does not expect the company to eventually reduce its 4% investment to improve its profit margins.

Additionally, the executives confirmed the company is on track for Kubasik to take over as CEO at the mid-year mark.

However, Brown said that change won't come with a strategy shift.

"Hopefully you noticed over the last 20 months . . . the close partnership Chris and I have developed," he said. "We operate very interchangeably."

Brown said he will continue on for another year as executive chairman.