Northrop Grumman to fly new Project Talon CCA by late 2026
Northrop Grumman’s Project Talon autonomous wingman. (Photo: Northrop Grumman)
The newly unveiled collaborative combat aircraft looks to strike a balance between capability and cost-effectiveness, according to the company.
Northrop Grumman subsidiary Scaled Composites has unveiled Project Talon, a new uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) concept.
While the company was not successful in its bid for Increment 1 of the US Air Force’s (USAF) CCA programme in 2024, the new design aims to rectify previous issues by emphasising a faster, easier-to-manufacture aircraft with a lower unit cost, according to Northrop Grumman.
Additionally, Northrop has not ruled out submitting Project Talon, which was previously reported as “Project Lotus” by Aviation Week, for Increment 2 – although it noted that this uncrewed aerial vehicle has not been designed to specifically target that programme.
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