Northrop Grumman will rapidly develop a collaborative combat aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps under a $231.5 million other transaction agreement awarded under the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Uncrewed Expeditionary Tactical Aircraft, or MUX TACAIR, program.
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What Capabilities Will the CCA Deliver?
Northrop, as the prime contractor, said Thursday that it will integrate its autonomous mission systems with Kratos’ Valkyrie uncrewed aerial system to deliver an uncrewed aircraft designed to support crewed fighters in contested environments.
Valkyrie offers conventional takeoff and landing capabilities, modular payload bays and runway flexibility.
“The integration of the Kratos Valkyrie aircraft system configured with the world’s best multifunction mission systems from Northrop Grumman results in a high-capability CCA at a price point that enables the uncrewed systems to be deployed in mass with crewed aircraft,” said Steve Fendley, president of the unmanned systems division at Kratos.
What Is the Marine Corps’ MUX TACAIR CCA Program?
The MUX TACAIR CCA initiative is focused on fielding an uncrewed aircraft that can extend sensing, strike and survivability capabilities without putting pilots at risk.
Northrop will provide the Marine Corps with Kratos platforms integrated with its advanced mission kit that includes sensors and software-defined capabilities that support both kinetic and non-kinetic effects. Its open architecture software, called Prism, will enable autonomous aircraft operations.
Krys Moen, vice president of advanced mission capabilities at Northrop Grumman, said the company’s approach reflects its focus on delivering advanced sensing and autonomous systems at speed to meet evolving warfighter requirements.
