REDONDO BEACH, Calif. - Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has progressed to the next phase in designing an autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the company announced today. This development is part of DARPA's AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) program.
The company has entered the ANCILLARY Phase 1b, which includes a 10-month period for enhancing modeling fidelity, testing critical subsystems, and mitigating key technical risks. Northrop Grumman is set to capitalize on its extensive experience in autonomous VTOL systems and long-endurance aircraft to refine its ANCILLARY air vehicle design.
With the aim of creating a flight demonstrator, Northrop Grumman is leading a team that includes Leigh Aerosystems and Near Earth Autonomy to fulfill the project objectives and transition an affordable capability to the military.
Christopher Harris, program manager for ANCILLARY at Northrop Grumman, stated, "Northrop Grumman’s expertise in VTOL autonomous systems is built on thousands of flight hours of ship-based operational experience with the U.S. Navy. We are pairing forward-looking and industry-leading technical capabilities to provide next-generation intelligence gathering solutions via the ANCILLIARY autonomous system.”
DARPA's ANCILLARY program seeks to develop a VTOL X-plane that can launch and recover from ship decks and small land locations in adverse weather without additional infrastructure. This capability is intended to enable expeditionary deployments and locally commanded intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting (ISR/T) operations with unique payload capacities. The compact size of the UAS allows for multiple aircraft to be stored and operated from a single ship, potentially creating a tactical beyond-line-of-sight, multi-intelligence sensor network.
Northrop Grumman, a global leader in aerospace and defense technology, is committed to providing innovative solutions that enable connection and protection around the world, as well as supporting human exploration of the universe. This advancement in the ANCILLARY program underscores the company's dedication to addressing complex challenges in defense technology.
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