• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman expands Viper laser family

  20th November 2014

  Northrop Grumman has introduced a new addition to its family of Viper lasers, known as Viper 2.1, which can interface for use on all directed …

• Defence Helicopter

  BAE Systems submits US Army CIRCM proposal

  18th November 2014

  BAE Systems has submitted its proposal for the US Army’s Common Infrared Countermeasure (CIRCM) programme – a lightweight, low-cost, and modular laser-based aircraft protection system, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Northrop Grumman receives Marine Corps H-1 helicopter upgrade contract

  18th November 2014

  Northrop Grumman’s FlightPro Gen III will be installed on aircraft being enhanced under the US Marine Corps' H-1 helicopter upgrade programme, with a contract from …

• Military Logistics

  Northrop Grumman to continue sustaining Joint STARS

  14th November 2014

  Northrop Grumman will continue its work to sustain the US Air Force’s E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) fleet, under a $210 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Northrop Grumman to continue Global Hawk sustainment

  13th November 2014

  Northrop Grumman has signed an agreement with the US Department of Defense that will see the company continue logistics and sustainment services for the US …

• Land Warfare

  Northrop Grumman to begin G/ATOR LRIP for USMC

  29th October 2014

  Northrop Grumman will begin low-rate initial production (LRIP) of AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) systems under a $207 million contract from the US Marine …

• Digital Battlespace

  E-2D Advanced Hawkeye reaches IOC with US Navy

  29th October 2014

  The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft has reached initial operational capability (IOC) with the US Navy, and the first operational squadron is now preparing for deployment. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MQ-8C Fire Scout UAS nears shipboard testing

  24th October 2014

  Northrop Grumman is gearing up to commence shipboard testing of the MQ-8C Fire Scout UAS, with precision sloped landing tests now complete at US Naval …

• Defence Helicopter

  LCR-350 AHRS selected for Airbus Helicopters platforms

  22nd October 2014

  Northrop Grumman will supply its Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS) for a number of Airbus Helicopters helicopter platforms under an agreement announced on 21 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Selex helps develop hybrid airship

  21st October 2014

  Selex ES has teamed with Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) to further develop the latter’s Airlander airship concept, it has emerged. Developed under the US Army’s …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  USAF Global Hawks touch down after Japan deployment

  20th October 2014

  The first two Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Block 30 Global Hawks to successfully operate alongside commercial airliners at a civil-military airport have returned to base after …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Second US Navy Triton UAS takes flight

  17th October 2014

  The second MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for the US Navy programme completed its first flight on 15 October, Northrop Grumman has reported. Conducted …

• Defence Helicopter

  Concerns mount over Indian UAV developments

  17th October 2014

  Efforts to speed up development of the Rustom-2 MALE UAV appear to have stalled with neither confirmation on when production will begin nor delivery to the Indian Army, …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2014: Textron offers armoured HMMWV solution

  15th October 2014

  As an alternative to upgrading the HMMWV to its original capability, Textron Marine and Land Systems is offering the Survivable Combat Tactical Vehicle (SCTV). Developed …

• Land Warfare

  AUSA 2014: Northrop Grumman outlines HMMWV upgrade solution

  14th October 2014

  One of the companies offering a HMMWV modernisation package at the AUSA Annual exhibition is Northrop Grumman. The company has given some details about its …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk [Japan]

  Background Selection and contract award In 2015, Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft were selected by Japan ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (1-4) [Australia]

  Background Three Contracted Units In June 2018, the Government provided Second Pass (Tranche 1) Approval to procure the first of six air vehicles, supporting systems and ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton (5-6) [Australia]

  Background Four Contracted Units In the summer of 2020, Northrop Grumman announced that the Australian Government provided $333 million for three MQ-4C Tritons and associated GCS. ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Marine Unmanned Expeditionary Tactical Aircraft (MUX TACAIR) (Contracted) [USMC]

  Background MUX umbrella Since 2016, the USMC has sought to acquire a UAV that can be deployed from a vessel, used for various missions, and ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  Long-Range Drones [Norway]

  Background Andøya Ambition On 3 April 2023, the Norwegian MoD released a statement confirming its plans for Andøya, the northernmost island in its Vesterålen archipelago. In addition to ...

• Military UAS - small

  AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) [US]

  Background Aims & Timeline As stated by DARPA, the ANCILLARY programme aims to develop and fly an X-plane that will provide a “leap-ahead” in long-endurance, VTOL-capable ...

• ISR/special mission

  E-6 TACAMO Recapitalisation Programme (E-130J) [USN]

  Programme Background The E-6 Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) Recapitalisation Programme (E-XX) provides for air vehicle replacement and mission systems modernization to augment and eventually ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  MQ-4C Triton [NATO]

  Background NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum During the July 2026 NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum in Ankara, Türkiye, NATO announced that Denmark, Finland, Germany and Norway ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Marine Unmanned Expeditionary Tactical Aircraft (MUX TACAIR) (Uncontracted) [USMC]

  Background MUX umbrella Since 2016, the USMC has sought to acquire a UAV that can be deployed from a vessel, used for various missions, and ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) [NATO]

  Background Purchase While NATO doesn’t have its own forces and depends on its allies, the alliance does have some of its own assets and equipment. In ...

• Bomber

  B-21 Raider [USA]

  Programme Background Development The US DoD is developing a new long-range bomber called the B-21 Raider, previously known as LRS-B. At least 100 units are ...

• Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

• Military UAS - HALE

  RangeHawk (RQ-4 Global Hawk) [US]

  Background Contract award Northrop Grumman announced in May 2026 that it had secured a $325.5 million contract from the US Army to develop the RangeHawk ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-25 Stingray (16-76) [USN]

  Background Initial requirements The programme looked different when it began. In 2013, the USN awarded four Preliminary Design Review (PDR) contracts to Boeing, General Atomics, ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) (Increment 2) [USAF]

  Background Increment 1 In January 2024, during the first increment of the USAF’s CCA effort, the USAF awarded contracts to Anduril, Boeing, General Atomics (GA-ASI), ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - small

  ANCILLARY

  Northrop Grumman has developed a demonstrator tail-sitter UAV for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) ANCILLARY programme. Northrop states its design is a cost-efficient, multiple-mission capable vehicle built ...

• Loitering munitions

  Jackal

  The Jackal is a turbojet loitering munition designed by Northrop Grumman in partnership with AeroVironment.  It features an open architecture that provides the capability to support ...

• Military - UUVs

  Manta Ray

  Manta Ray is an uncrewed underwater vessel (UUV) developed by Northrop Grumman.

• Major networking projects

  IBCS

  The Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS) is a C2 system designed to integrate current and future sensors. The system also improves ...

• ISR/special mission

  Firebird

  Manufactured by Northrop Grumman, the Firebird is a unique platform that features different cockpit configurations. This feature allows the Firebird to be configured as either an uncrewed ...

• Air: Integrated cockpit systems

  H-1 Family of Avionics

  Northrop Grumman produces a family of avionics for Bell H-1-series helicopters.

• Military UAS - MALE

  YFQ-48A Talon Blue

  The YFQ-48A Talon Blue is a Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) from Northrop Grumman and Scaled Composites. Unveiled in December 2025, the system is reportedly lighter ...

• Air-to-surface missiles

  Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW)

  The Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW) is an air-to-ground weapon that will provide strike capability to defeat rapidly relocatable targets as part of an enemy’s anti-access/area denial ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Model 437

  Scaled Composites, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, unveiled the Model 437 in September 2021. The conceptual UAS is derived from a Model 401, or Son of Ares. It ...

• Air: aerial targets

  BQM-74F

  Building on the BQM-74E, the BQM-74F aerial target was developed by Northrop Grumman under a USN contract. Introduced in 2005, it has a new airframe ...

• Air: AEW/fire control radar

  AN/APG-80

  The AN/APG-80 is an X-band active electronically scanned array radar system with approximately 1,000 transmit/receive modules, designed for continuous search and multi-target tracking capabilities in ...

• Guided munitions

  Viper Strike

  The GBU-44/B Viper Strike is an air-launched precision-guided munition (PGM) equipped with a relatively small-shaped charge warhead. It has been optimised for employment in urban ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  X-47B UCAS

  The X-47B is a tailless, strike fighter-sized unmanned aircraft, which was developed as part of the USN's Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration project. The aircraft ...

• Bomber

  B-21 Raider

  The B-21 Raider is a strategic stealth bomber aircraft being developed by Northrop Grumman to succeed the B-1 and B-2 fleets in the USAF service. ...

• Cannons

  30/40mm Mk44 Bushmaster

  The 30mm/40mm Mk44 Bushmaster automatic cannon is a next-generation chain gun weapon in widespread use. The weapon has been designed for system simplicity, external power, ...