UK Royal Navy picks Northrop Grumman’s Talon Blue for hybrid air wing demonstration

Embarked demonstration in UK waters planned for 2027, First Sea Lord reveals.
The UK Royal Navy (RN) will sign an agreement with Northrop Grumman on 12 November to test its Talon Blue collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) from one of its aircraft carriers next year.

Detailing the plan on 10 November during the International Sea Power Conference aboard the RN’s flagship HMS Prince of Wales in Oslo, Norway, First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins said: “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.

“Through that agreement, we will work towards a demonstration in UK waters in 2027, including a launch from the carrier,” he adds.

Demonstrating the use of a CCA-type aircraft will support the RN’s future transition to a Hybrid Air Wing operating model.

“It will give us the evidence we need to understand how uncrewed combat aircraft can operate safely and effectively alongside the existing air wing,” Jenkins says. “Then we learn, adapt and keep moving forward. That is how we deliver capability at the pace necessary.”

He describes the activity as “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”.

“The opportunity that the Hybrid Navy represents is huge,” Jenkins says. “Not just because it will transform the way we fight, but because it can create real economic opportunity for Britain.”

In its June 2026 Defence Investment Plan, the UK Ministry of Defence committed roughly £240 million ($287 million) in support of the “development of a hybrid carrier air wing, including trialling jet-powered drones to work alongside our [Lockheed Martin] F-35B force” via Project Vanquish.

Designated the YFQ-48A by the US Air Force, Northrop’s Pratt & Whitney PW500-engined Talon Blue performed its fully-autonomous first flight in early October. It had been offered during the service’s Increment 1 CCA contest, losing out to the Anduril Industries YFQ-44A Fury and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems YFQ-42A Vengeance.

Deployment of the Talon Blue from one of the RN’s two 65,000t-class aircraft carriers – Prince of Wales and Queen Elizabeth – will build on previous work involving several other fixed-wing types, including the General Atomics Mojave, Tekever AR5 and Windracers Ultra.

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