Northrop Grumman has revealed new details about the strategy behind its YFQ-48A Talon Blue, showing that the unmanned aircraft is also being used to develop and test technologies that could control other Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA).
CEO Kathy Warden discussed the program during the company's third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday. Northrop is developing Talon Blue with Scaled Composites.
The company is pairing the aircraft with Talon IQ, an open architecture designed to integrate autonomous systems and provide command and control for collaborative aircraft.
Warden said Northrop has already integrated autonomy software from about six other companies into its testbed. The company has demonstrated that the different systems can operate within its architecture and has also controlled third-party aircraft.
The approach could allow Northrop to participate in future CCA programs without requiring customers to adopt both an aircraft and autonomy software developed by the company.
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Northrop did not compete for the first increment of the U.S. Air Force CCA program. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Anduril were selected to build the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A, respectively, with both aircraft now undergoing flight testing.
Northrop is positioning the YFQ-48A for subsequent opportunities. Warden said the company is working with several U.S. customers to define requirements for the next generation of collaborative aircraft and is also discussing the concept with potential international customers.
Talon Blue made its first flight in Mojave, California, in September. The aircraft was developed rapidly by Scaled Composites, a Northrop subsidiary known for experimental aircraft programs, and carries the civil registration N444LX.
The YFQ-48A designation indicates that the U.S. military has formally classified the aircraft as an experimental unmanned fighter. Images released after its first flight showed a single-engine aircraft with a conventional tail and a configuration considerably different from the tailless designs adopted by the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A.
Warden said Northrop is developing a family of collaborative aircraft designed around affordability and the ability to be manufactured at scale rather than waiting for final requirements from future competitions.
The work could position the YFQ-48A and Talon IQ for the U.S. Air Force's next CCA increment and other programs, including the U.S. Marine Corps' Marine Air-Ground Task Force Unmanned Aerial System Expeditionary (MUX) initiative.
