Northrop Grumman’s YFQ-48A Talon Blue, a candidate for a production contract under the U.S. Army’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, completed its first fully autonomous flight, the manufacturer announced Saturday.
The flight, which took place in Mojave, California, included autonomous taxi, takeoff, in-flight maneuvers, and landing. The design is internally funded and aims to reduce part count and overall weight, lowering manufacturing costs and supporting faster production to meet growing military demand for autonomous systems. It includes a high air intake, wide wheelbase, and integrated weapons bay designed for U.S. military and allied partner mission needs.
“Our customers made it clear they need autonomous systems that can be fielded faster and more affordably without sacrificing mission effectiveness,” said Craig Woolston, vice president and general manager for research and advanced design at Northrop Grumman, in a company news release. “Talon Blue’s first flight is one step toward a new generation of autonomous capabilities.”
The Pentagon’s record $1.5 trillion budget request for fiscal year 2027 includes $53.6 billion for autonomy, drone platforms, and contested logistics. The U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps are each exploring CCA to serve as loyal wingmen and augment crewed next-generation fighter jets, such as the F-47 and F/A-XX under development by Boeing.
The Air Force effort is the most advanced. The branch in June awarded engineering and manufacturing development and production contracts to General Atomics and Anduril for their respective CCA designs, which are both in testing. Though Northrop Grumman was not awarded a production contract, the company was listed as one of six candidates to receive a mission autonomy production contract that would see it develop autonomy software for CCA.
The Air Force in December designated the firm’s Talon Blue as the YFQ-48A, describing it as a “semi-autonomous prototype aircraft.” Northrop Grumman is also developing a CCA for the Marine Corps designed around its autonomy software and Kratos’ Valkyrie uncrewed aerial system. The Marine Corps said in April that it aims to conduct its first CCA flight this year.
Talon Blue is part of Northrop Grumman’s Project Talon portfolio that also includes Talon IQ, which it describes as a “cutting-edge autonomous testbed” operating on the Scaled Composites Model 437.
“Together, Talon Blue and Talon IQ allow Northrop Grumman and its partners to rapidly develop, test and field autonomous capabilities tailored to meet emerging threats and operational requirements,” the company said in its news release.
