Northrop Grumman’s hot streak in the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) world is showing no signs of slowing down.
Just a few weeks after the Air Force called Northrop’s Talon drone a “strong contender” for the service’s CCA program (designating it as the YFQ-48A), the prime announced that it’s been awarded a contract to build the Marine Corps’ first drone wingman with Kratos.
Startups may be sexy, but it looks like the primes still have the rule of the roost (minus RTX, which is now in the timeout corner).
Ride of the Valkyries: The robo-wingman Kratos and Northrop are making for the Marine Corps’ CCA program—formally called the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Uncrewed Expeditionary Tactical Aircraft (MUX TACAIR)—will be built around Kratos’ XQ-58 Valkyrie unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV).
- According to Kratos, the Valkyrie, which first took flight in 2019, has a range of over 3,000 nautical miles, a top speed of 0.86 Mach, an internal payload capacity of 600 lb, and a ceiling of up to 45,000 feet.
- The UCAV is fully runway-independent and can be launched from a static launcher, but can be modified to take off on normal runways.
- Originally developed for the Air Force and tested under the service’s Skyborg autonomy program, the Marines have bought three Valkyries since 2023 and designated it as a program of record last year.
Teamwork: Northrop, for its part, will be bringing a whole lot of software and sensors to the table, which they’ve packaged “into a smaller envelope” to make it more cost-effective for uncrewed aircraft. According to the prime’s release, they’ll supply:
- Advanced mission kit of sensors and “software-defined technologies designed specifically for uncrewed aircraft” that “can perform various kinetic and non-kinetic effects, making the platform a combat-ready asset.”
- Prism, their open architecture autonomy software designed for unmanned aircraft.
That combo deal clearly got the Marines pretty excited, with the service shelling out $231.5M to Northrop and Kratos over an initial 24-month performance period.
“This award combines Northrop Grumman’s uncrewed capabilities and autonomous leadership with Kratos’ Valkyrie uncrewed aerial system to work alongside crewed fighters to provide air dominance in high-threat environments,” the companies said in a release.
“With more than 20 successful flight demonstrations in operationally relevant environments,” they added, “Northrop Grumman and Kratos are offering the U.S. Marine Corps a low-risk, expedited path to MUX TACAIR mission capability and persistent joint crewed and uncrewed expeditionary operations.”
Takeoff: According to budget documents from last year, $58M was requested for a MUX TACAIR “prototype air vehicle with fully integrated mission systems” in FY 2026, with new features added as it develops during the five-year development period before it has to be operational.
If you’ve been paying attention to the president’s Truth Social account this week, you can bet that Northrop and Kratos are going to do everything they can to stick to that timeline. No one wants to be on the receiving end of a “BEWARE” message.