US EditionUS Marine Corps Taps Northrop, Kratos to Build Valkyrie Drone Wingmen
Northrop Grumman and Kratos secured a $231.5 million deal to develop autonomous Valkyrie drones as collaborative combat aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps.
- On Thursday, Northrop Grumman and Kratos Defense and Security Solutions announced they will team to build autonomous Valkyrie drone wingmen for the U.S. Marine Corps.
- In recent years, testing of Kratos Valkyrie, XQ‑58 under the Air Force's Skyborg program showed its potential, and the Marine Corps made it a program of record in 2025 as services prioritized collaborative combat aircraft.
- The Valkyrie will operate using Northrop's Prism open‑architecture autonomy software, with modular payload bays and CTOL capability for kinetic and nonkinetic missions, the companies said.
- Krys Moen said the deal is an Other Transaction Agreement initially valued at $231.5 million for the MUX TACAIR effort and covers a 24 months initial performance period.
- MUX TACAIR adopts a spiral, incremented approach that uses Pentagon rapid prototyping rules and more than 20 successful flight demonstrations to speed fielding within a five-year window.
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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 e…
US Marine Corps taps Northrop, Kratos to build Valkyrie drone wingmen
Northrop Grumman and Kratos Defense and Security Solutions are teaming up to build autonomous drone wingmen for the U.S. Marine Corps, the companies announced Thursday.The two firms will work together on Kratos’ autonomous Valkyrie drone, to rapidly prepare it to fly alongside some of the Marine Corps’ crewed fighters and operate in high-threat environments, Northrop and Kratos said in a statement. The program is called the Marine Air-Ground Tas…
Northrop Grumman to Rapidly Develop Marine Corps CCA with Kratos’ Valkyrie UAS
This agile solution integrates Northrop Grumman’s proven mission systems with Kratos’ mature Valkyrie. (Photo Credit: U.S. Marine Corps) From Northrop Grumman, Jan. 8, 2026 BALTIMORE – Jan. 8, 2026 – Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) was competitively awarded the U.S. Marine Corps’ Marine Air-Ground Task Force Uncrewed Expeditionary Tactical Aircraft (MUX TACAIR) Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). This award combines Northrop Grumman’s uncrewed ca…
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