ANCILLARY Autonomous Vertical Takeoff & Landing Aircraft

Defining Possible in next generation VTOL uncrewed aircraft systems

Autonomous aircraft landing on a naval ship in the ocean

Long endurance, autonomous vertical takeoff and landing aircraft design for DARPA

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) selected Northrop Grumman to develop an initial design for its AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) X-Plane program capable of operating from a moving Navy ship at sea.

As an unmatched leader in the design and development of innovative autonomous solutions, Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft and long-endurance uncrewed aircraft systems, we are uniquely qualified to develop DARPA’s ANCILLARY VTOL X-Plane demonstrator and advance the next generation of autonomous VTOL military aircraft.

Designing a next gen military vehicle for the warfighter community

Northrop Grumman will lead a collaborative team, leveraging Leigh Aerosystems’ VTOL unmanned aircraft system, along with Near Earth Autonomy, to meet project goals and transition an affordable near-term capability to the warfighter community.

Northrop Grumman's ANCILLARY design is a cost-efficient, multiple-mission capable vehicle built on an agile platform that will not rely on complex launch and recovery infrastructure. It meets DARPA’s challenging performance objectives, weighs no more than 330 pounds, and can be deployed and retrieved anytime or anywhere with no special infrastructure, including ship-based operations.

Our vertical lift aircraft also performs intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting (ISR/T) missions, employing artificial intelligence and machine learning enabled automated targeting capability. It supports expeditionary and special operations missions, as well as ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore logistical missions with significant affordability benefits for delivery of critical parts and supplies.

Advancing capabilities in vertical lift aircraft and autonomous systems

We are leveraging Northrop Grumman’s significant expertise in the design and development of autonomous VTOL systems and highly efficient long-endurance aircraft throughout the development of our ANCILLARY air vehicle design. This includes the MQ-8 Fire Scout, the Navy’s first and only large-scale, sea-based vertical takeoff and landing uncrewed aircraft system ISR/T asset, and the high-altitude long endurance (HALE) RQ-4B Global Hawk and MQ-4C Triton, both used for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting missions.

Mission-focused team

Our highly capable team of engineers and suppliers bring together the requisite experience, technology and integration capability required to meet DARPA’s aggressive goals and transition a valuable capability to the warfighter community. From requirements analysis and conceptual designs to testing and evaluation, our team understands mission and concept of operations for this size class of UAS and offers unique experience and insights integrating Navy uncrewed systems end-to-end.

Future autonomous VTOL solutions

“Northrop Grumman is working to significantly enhance how future autonomous vertical lift aircraft will operate at sea and ashore. The ANCILLARY program enables us to combine our digital engineering expertise with extensive knowledge and insights from past successes in developing and operating uncrewed vertical lift aircraft for the U.S. Navy.”

—Tim Frei
Vice President, Research and Advanced Design
Northrop Grumman