• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Fire Scout expands ship-based intelligence gathering

  7th December 2011

  A recent US Navy and Northrop Grumman exercise has seen the Fire Scout unmanned helicopter successfully sent sensor data to the cockpit display of a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  New X-47B completes first flight

  7th December 2011

  The second X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D) to be built has completed its first flight. Developed by the US Navy and Northrop …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman wins E-3 AWACS simulator award

  5th December 2011

  Northrop Grumman has announced that under a contract awarded by Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA), it will be providing a Combat Electromagnetic Environment Simulator (CEESIM) system …

• Digital Battlespace

  Lockheed Martin opens Cyber centre

  2nd December 2011

  Lockheed Martin opened its UK Security Intelligence Centre (SIC) today in an effort to provide additional protection against cyber attacks. Officially opened by Gerald Howarth, …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman delivers EW equipment to Turkey

  2nd December 2011

  Northrop Grumman has announced that they have completed delivery on a number of Electronic Warfare (EW) contracts to Turkish high technology defence electronics company, Aselsan. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Pratt & Whitney engine powers UCAS-D flight

  28th November 2011

  Pratt & Whitney has announced that its F100-PW-220U engine and exhaust system have powered the first flight of the second Northrop Grumman X-47B flight test …

• Digital Battlespace

  LM brings Vigilance to export market

  18th November 2011

  Lockheed Martin is preparing its Airborne Early Warning (AEW) Vigilance podded mission system for the export market, company representatives announced on 17 November. Speaking at …

• Defence Helicopter

  AMF JTRS successfully demonstrates enhanced communications

  18th November 2011

  Lockheed Martin has demonstrated how software-defined radios can extend land force tactical networks by connecting disparate ground troops with the Airborne and Maritime/Fixed Station Joint …

• Defence Helicopter

  Upgraded H-1 Helicopters deployed

  18th November 2011

  Northrop Grumman has announced that its Integrated Avionics System has played a key role in preparing the AH-1Z helicopter for its first operational deployment, marking …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman network selected for US Army evaluation

  11th November 2011

  A wireless network developed by Northrop Grumman has been selected by the US Army to participate in the second Network Integration Evaluation (NIE), underway at …

• Naval Warfare

  Boeing to supply additional P-8A Poseidon aircraft

  10th November 2011

  Boeing has received a $1.7 billion low-rate initial production (LRIP) award from the US Navy to supply an additional seven P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Apache controls Gray Eagle UAV

  10th November 2011

  An AH-64D Apache Block III attack helicopter has controlled an MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAV during flight using the Longbow Unmanned Aerial Systems Tactical Common Data …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US Navy to arm Fire Scout UAV

  9th November 2011

  Northrop Grumman has revealed details on the US Navy’s plan to outfit the MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter with a weapons system. According to a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US Navy extends Fire Scout service

  9th November 2011

  The US Navy has extended the Fire Scout UAV’s service through most of 2012 according to a Northrop Grumman company statement issued 9 November 2011.  …

• Digital Battlespace

  MILCOM 2011: GE and Juniper target land platform

  9th November 2011

  GE Intelligent Platforms has joined forces with Juniper Networks to develop a family of ruggedised and secure network security appliances for military platforms, according to …

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, ...