Overview
- Northrop announced on Oct. 3 that the YFQ-48A Talon Blue completed a fully autonomous flight that included taxi, takeoff, in-flight maneuvers, and a landing.
- The aircraft was developed and built by Scaled Composites and flew from Mojave Air and Space Port using a Pratt & Whitney PW500 turbofan as its powerplant.
- Talon Blue is part of Northrop’s internally funded Project Talon portfolio created after the company lost the first CCA round and is intended to compete for the service's next Increment.
- The company highlighted manufacturing changes that cut part count and weight to lower cost, but it did not disclose flight dates, duration, altitude, or the near-term test schedule.
- The milestone comes as other CCA designs from General Atomics and Anduril have moved toward production, making further flight tests and any USAF selection the key next developments to watch.