In the early eighties, the Northrop Corporation (now Northrop Grumman) sought to create a team to develop new stealth technology research. Their requirements were simple: find qualified people with no predispositions about how to design aircraft, preferably Harvey Mudd College graduates.

Leticia (Abrantes) Kurashige ’82, a recent graduate of the engineering program and the Bates Aeronautics program, was one Mudder who fit the bill. Born in a naval hospital in Guam and raised in Hawaii, Kurashige grew up intrigued by the military aircraft and personnel who frequented the islands. She selected HMC primarily because of its Bates Program in aeronautics, which taught students how to fly from 1962 to 1990. Through the program, she earned her pilot’s license and gained skills that would serve her well. Iris Critchell, instructor of aeronautics emerita, recalled that Kurashige was always fun to fly with and very upbeat. “She is a can-do person,” said Critchell.

This undoubtedly was apparent during Kurashige’s interviews at Northrop. “Having a pilot’s license, knowing how the aeoronautics and structural side of things work, and understanding the flight environment helped quite a lot,” she said.

She was hired in 1982, along with another Mudder and fellow Bateser, Kenneth Lehmer ’81, and they shared an office in the structures engineering group for several years, collaborating on the development of the YF-23A, Northrop’s bid for an Advanced Tactical Fighter. At that time, the U.S. Air Force was interested in developing new stealth technologies in fighter design, including incorporation of composite materials, lightweight alloys, advanced flight control systems and higher power propulsion systems. Northrop’s strategy for building the YF-23 involved bringing in recent college graduates (notably Mudders) who, according to Kurashige, weren’t “chained to old ideas of building airplanes.” These recruits were then teamed with a group of semi-retired designers who had designed dozens of aircraft throughout the World War II and post-Vietnam War eras. Kurashige surmised these designers must have had over a dozen aircraft patents between them. “We sat side by side with them and heard a lot of old time stories,” said Kurashige. “They often reminded me that a large majority of engineers could go an entire career without having the opportunities and breadth of exposure I fell into for being at the right place at the right time.”

The youngest person on the program and one of only two technical women for almost a decade, Kurashige said she was not fazed. “Because we were such a small-knit group, especially at the beginning, it didn’t really matter. The mixture of very young workers with much older, experienced ones, worked.”

Kurashige and Lehmer worked on all aspects of the aircraft. “We designed, built and tested the structural components,” said Kurashige. “In my case, I specialized in a lot of the low observable structures associated with stealth technology.”

Two YF-23 prototypes, larger than the F-15 they were designed to replace, were designed and built by Northrop and McDonnell Douglas. In addition to stealth characteristics, the YF-23 was capable of supersonic cruise flight without afterburner and achieved a speed of Mach 1.8.

“That first flight was a blast!” said Kurashige, who, along with the other original team members, received VIP treatment for the event. “We were fortunate to see what we created go to prototype, see it built and then see our design fly. Many in this field never get to see a finished product.”

The Air Force eventually selected another design for full-scale development—the YF-22 designed by Lockheed—and the aircraft designed by Kurashige and the other team members were stored or used for other studies. They are now on display, one at the Western Museum of Flight in Hawthorne, Calif., and the other at the USAF Test Center Museum at Edwards Air Force Base, San Bernardino, Calif.

After the YF-23 project, Kurashige worked in both the military and commercial sectors of Northrop. “I was able to transition back and forth rather easily, mainly because of the diverse skill base that I received from HMC,” she said.

Just as Northrop has evolved from an aircraft design and building company to a leader in information technology, so Kurashige has kept pace with the times and made career transitions. In 1999, she began working in a sector of Northrop Grumman that was formerly  Logicon Corporation, and met up with Mudders again.

“The diversity of experience that I have really helps,” said Kurashige of the transition. “Northrop wants its people to be multifunctional and able to communicate to a diverse range of customers, external and internal. You must be aware of the end-to-end design, have a customer focus and not get caught in a small segment of the life cycle design.”

Her work these days involves creating mission planning software for military aircraft. Instead of building new airplanes—a time consuming and costly endeavor—the goal is to retrofit existing aircraft platforms with new instruments and weapons. Kurashige helps to support the deployed B-1 bomber operational force.

“Software development is a lot different, a lot less complex than building an aircraft,” she said. “I deal with the pilots and weapons systems officers on a daily basis to make sure the software does what their mission tasks are. Unlike an aircraft which takes 10 to 15 years from paper to full production, software life cycles are much quicker, so you get to see your product being used much earlier than if you were to build an aircraft.”

Kurashige also appreciates the fact that she does not have to climb over and under aircraft, and delve into the bowels of manufacturing plants. “Software development is a lot less dirty.”

Even with the demands of work and family—she is married to Gary, a high school math teacher, and has a son in eighth grade—Kurashige finds time to keep in touch with other Bates alumni, get the latest aviation news from Iris Critchell, and fly the program’s former Cessna 42G, of which she is a part owner. In fact, in September, she participated in the Bates annual Fly-in at nearby Brackett Airport and the Batsers dinner on campus. “When I get bogged down with work,” she said, “the Bates connection reenergizes me.”