Marine Corps picks Northrop Grumman, Kratos team to build CCA drones

Northrop Grumman and Kratos have been selected by the Marine Corps to develop the service’s first batch of loyal wingman drones, the companies announced Thursday.

The Corps awarded the Northrop Grumman-led team an other transaction agreement worth $231.5 million for the program — known as the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Uncrewed Expeditionary Tactical Aircraft (MUX TACAIR). A Northrop spokesperson told DefenseScoop that the contract funds the effort’s development with an initial period of performance of 24 months. 

As the sole prime contractor, Northrop will integrate its advanced mission kits and Prism open architecture autonomy software onto Kratos’ XQ-58 Valkyrie drone. The mission kits comprise sensors and software-defined technologies developed for unmanned aerial systems, and can also enable both kinetic and non-kinetic effects to make “the platform a combat-ready asset,” a company news release stated. 

“Northrop Grumman remains at the forefront of advanced sensing capabilities, delivering innovative solutions that meet the needs of the warfighter with unmatched speed and reliability. This enhanced capability set ensures optimal performance for both crewed and uncrewed platforms,” Krys Moen, vice president of advanced mission capabilities at the company, said in a statement.

The MUX TACAIR program is one of several loyal wingman drones — commonly referred to as Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) — currently being developed across the Pentagon. The unmanned aerial vehicles are designed to fly alongside the military’s manned aircraft to provide additional strike and intelligence-gathering capabilities.

The Air Force and Navy have active programs of record underway, while the Army announced in late 2025 that it is considering launching a competition for its own loyal wingman program.

Prior to the MUX TACAIR award, the Marine Corps had been partnering with Kratos and conducting flight tests of the XQ-58 Valkyrie under the Penetrating Affordable Autonomous Collaborative Killer-Portfolio (PAACK-P) effort. The work — which was funded by the Pentagon’s Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve (RDER) program — allowed the service to experiment with the platform and refine requirements.

“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,” Steve Fendly, president of Kratos’ unmanned systems division, said in a statement. 

The Marine Corps requested $58 million in fiscal 2026 to continue research and development for MUX TACAIR. According to budget documents, the funds would contribute to delivering a “prototype air vehicle with fully integrated mission systems for demonstration and evaluation of conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) capability and critical systems attributes” during FY26.

Like other CCA programs, the Marine Corps intends to rapidly develop and field the MUX TACAIR drones in batches known as increments. The award to Northrop and Kratos will cover increment 1, and new capabilities and systems will be integrated into subsequent groupings.

“The requirements within each [minimum viable capability] spiral will detail a minimum set of threshold capabilities required for training and tactics development with a unit of employment (e.g., fleet squadron),” budget documents stated. “MVP development spirals include enhancements for multiple capabilities in the areas of: C2, [electronic warfare], mission computer and datalinks.”

According to Northrop Grumman, the company has partnered with Kratos and commercial vendors to build a missionized CCA for the Marine Corps that features “survivability, connectivity, lethality and supportability” capabilities.

“With more than 20 successful flight demonstrations in operationally relevant environments, Northrop Grumman and Kratos are offering the U.S. Marine Corps a low risk, expedited path to MUX TACAIR mission capability and persistent joint crewed and uncrewed expeditionary operations,” a company news release said.