Northrop Grumman reveals Project Talon CCA

US defence prime contractor Northrop Grumman has unveiled Project Talon, a Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) designed to fly autonomously alongside crewed fighters. It advances collaboration between crewed and uncrewed aircraft, acting as a force multiplier to enhance lethality, adaptability and mission effectiveness, the company says. 

Project Talon combines greater mission versatility with the most advanced modular manufacturing techniques, Northrop Grumman adds. This disruptive approach shortens timelines, emphasizing speed and simplicity, it says: Project Talon was designed, built and flew in under 24 months. Its avionics software was tested using the company’s Project Beacon optionally-crewed aircraft in real-world environments.  Northrop Grumman funded development of Project Talon internally, showcasing its commitment to innovation in autonomous systems tailored to military needs, it says. 

Earlier this year Northrop Grumman unveiled its Beacon next-generation testbed for autonomous systems. Based on subsidiary company Scaled Composites’ Model 437 Vanguard optionally crewed aircraft, Beacon is designed to provide an integrated environment that mimics operational scenarios and gives both the company and third party vendors an opportunity to test new autonomous solutions and expose them to industry leaders who can scale them.

Northrop Grumman was not selected by the US Air Force to develop a CCA for its 5^th and 6^th generation fighters – that contract went to General Atomics and Anduril Industries with the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A Fury, respectively. However, the USAF has said there will likely be a second CCA program enabling more companies to feature.

Project Talon represents a paradigm shift in air dominance, says the company, and showcases Northrop Grumman’s ability to quickly deliver mission-ready autonomy with a modular design and streamlined manufacturing capabilities and innovative production processes. It was designed from the outset for manufacturability.

Speed is the outcome of smart, informed decisions made early, Northrop Grumman says. “We engineered through anticipating mission needs, investing ahead of demand, and building the digital backbone and manufacturing capacity to move quickly and with clarity,” it said in a media release.