Autonomous VTOL X-Plane Advances to Next Design Phase

Northrop Grumman Corporation has been selected by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the next design phase of its autonomous vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, as part of the AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) program.

DARPA’s ANCILLARY Phase 1b air vehicle design and system technology maturation award will have a 10-month period of performance to increase modeling fidelity, perform critical subsystems testing, and reduce key technical risks.  

Northrop Grumman will leverage its industry-leading expertise in the development and integration of autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) systems and highly efficient long-endurance aircraft to advance its ANCILLARY air vehicle design for DARPA.

One step closer to building a flight demonstrator, in this phase Northrop Grumman will lead a collaborative team, including Leigh Aerosystems and Near Earth Autonomy, to meet project goals and transition an affordable near-term capability to the warfighter community.

Christopher Harris, Program Manager, ANCILLARY, Northrop Grumman, said; “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 ANCILLARY autonomous system.”