WASHINGTON • U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., questioned Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about the Pentagon’s role in the approval in July of L3 Harris Technologies’ purchase of Aerojet Rocketdyne at a time when the number of defense contractors is at a historic low.

L3 Harris said July 26 it was informed the Federal Trade Commission would not block its $4.7 billion deal for Aerojet Rocketdyne. It closed the deal within days. Warren, who had expressed concern about the transaction before it went forward , and other Democrat i c l awmake r s pressed Pentagon officials Thursday to keep an eye on the new company. “It is imperative that the public be informed about potential conditions of the deal, what enforcement and oversight mechanisms exist to enforce promises made by L3Harris about the deal, and what information the DoD provided to the Federal Trade Commission,” they wrote in the letter sent to Austin.

The letter was signed by Warren, chair of the Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Personnel, as well as Democratic Reps. John Garamendi and Mark Pocan.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawmakers noted concerns DoD had expressed before the transaction was announced about how the defense industrial base was “historically consolidated” because of previous transactions.