Plans To Fly Talon Blue CCA Drone From British Carrier Confirmed By Northrop Grumman
The Royal Navy is aiming to see Northrop Grumman’s Talon Blue collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) drone fly from a British aircraft carrier next year. The planned demonstration is another notable step toward a carrier-based CCA capability in the United Kingdom. The plans also signal significant new opportunities on the horizon for Talon Blue, the first flight of which was only announced last month.
“We look forward to working with the Royal Navy over the next 12 months on this future demonstration,” Northrop Grumman told TWZ in a statement today. “Thursday’s signing is an important step in demonstrating relevant British naval capabilities, building on Northrop Grumman’s decades of leadership in autonomy and commitment to mission-relevant platforms and systems.”
First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins had first announced plans to launch Talon Blue, which the U.S. military has also designated the YFQ-48A, from a carrier during an address yesterday at the International Sea Power Conference in Norway. Jenkins, the first Royal Marine to ever hold the post of First Sea Lord, the United Kingdom’s top naval officer, made his remarks aboard the HMS Prince of Wales. That ship is the second of two Queen Elizabeth class carriers in Royal Navy service today.
A stock picture of the Queen Elizabeth class carrier HMS Prince of Wales. A U.S. F-35B Joint Strike Fighter is seen here preparing to land on the carrier ahead of an exercise in 2023. USN
“In two days’ time, on this carrier, I will sign a statement of intent with our friends at Northrop Grumman to prepare their Talon demonstrator for trials with the Royal Navy under Project Vanquish,” Jenkins declared to those in attendance. “Through that agreement, we will work towards a demonstration in U.K. waters in 2027, including a launch from the carrier.”
The planned tests involving Talon “will give us the evidence we need to understand how uncrewed combat aircraft can operate safely and effectively alongside the existing air wing. Then we learn, adapt and keep moving forward,” he continued. “That is how we deliver capability at the pace necessary. Not by waiting years for a perfect solution, but by working with industry to get the latest technology into the hands of our people as quickly as possible. Of course, moving at pace carries some risk.”
Another view of the Talon Blue drone. Northrop Grumman
Jenkins first announced Project Vanquish in September 2025. As outlined then, the project’s goal was to demonstrate the ability to launch and recover what authorities in the U.K. refer to as a Tier 2 Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP) from a carrier without the need for a catapult or arresting gear. The Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth class carriers are so-called short-takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) types that lack catapults and arresting gear, but there has been talk in the past about adding those features in some form down the line.
In the British government’s parlance, Tier 2 ACPs are defined primarily by being ‘attritable.’ This, in turn, is generally taken to mean designs that are low-cost enough to be employed in higher-risk environments from which they may not return, but that are also capable enough to conduct relevant missions.
Since Talon Blue was first officially disclosed in December 2025, at a media event that TWZ attended, Northrop Grumman has talked about the design as being lower-cost. However, the company does not appear to have used attritable or similar terms to describe the drone. Hard cost data of any kind has yet to be disclosed. Talon Blue does appear to be in line, broadly speaking, with the complexity of the two CCAs now in production for the U.S. Air Force. Those drones, General Atomics FQ-42A Vengeance and Anduril’s FQ-44A Fury, are understood to have unit costs in the low tens of millions
“Our customers made it clear they need autonomous systems that can be fielded faster and more affordably without sacrificing mission effectiveness,” Craig Woolston, Vice President and General Manager for Research and Advanced Design, at Northrop Grumman said in a statement accompanying the announcement of Talon Blue’s maiden flight last month. “We listened. Talon Blue’s first flight is one step toward a new generation of autonomous capabilities. Every flight and lesson strengthens our broader autonomy work and sharpens what comes next.”
YFQ-48A Talon Blue took to the skies for the first time.
In a fully autonomous run from takeoff to landing, our latest breakthrough in autonomy shows what the next era of airpower looks like.
Built for speed. Engineered for what’s next. pic.twitter.com/8vfNR2HeHH
— Northrop Grumman (@northropgrumman) October 5, 2026
What it might take to configure Talon Blue for carrier-based operations remains to be seen, even without the need for the drone to be capable of catapult launches and arrested recoveries. An entirely new variant could well be required, if it is not already in the works.
It should be noted that the Royal Navy has already demonstrated the ability to launch and recover several different types of propeller-driven drones from the decks of its Queen Elizabeth class carriers since 2023. This includes the Mojave from G
Source: www.twz.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.