# Northrop Demonstrates Autonomous CCA in Mojave

Northrop Grumman’s self-funded YFQ-48A Talon Blue completed its first fully autonomous flight in Mojave, California, demonstrating autonomous taxiing, takeoff, in-flight maneuvering, and landing. The milestone is not a contract award to Northrop. The company is among six vendors in the Air Force’s Increment 1 mission-autonomy software competition, where the service aims to select one provider by summer 2027; the Air Force is also planning CCA acquisition activity for FY2027 and has stated a goal of fielding 500 autonomous aircraft by 2032. Separately, the Marine Corps has a $231.5 million CCA development agreement.

- Companies should distinguish Northrop’s self-funded aircraft demonstration from the separate Air Force aircraft awards and autonomy-software competition; no Talon Blue aircraft contract is identified.
- The summer 2027 software-provider selection and planned FY2027 acquisition offer relevant planning points for firms pursuing autonomy, aircraft, and supporting supply-chain work.
- The Marine Corps’ $231.5 million development agreement is a separate CCA effort, providing another procurement pathway for companies assessing relevant capabilities and potential teaming roles.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Defense & Military
**Topics:** Artificial Intelligence
**Published:** October 06, 2026

### Government Entities
- United States Air Force (USAF)
- U.S. Marine Corps (USMC)

### Vendors
- Northrop Grumman (Self-funded developer of the Talon Blue demonstrator; participant in the Air Force mission-autonomy software competition)
- Anduril (Selected contractor for the first round of the Air Force CCA program and participant in the autonomy software competition)
- General Atomics (Selected contractor for the first round of the Air Force CCA program)
- Shield AI (Selected participant in the Air Force autonomy software competition)
- Kratos (Valkyrie uncrewed aircraft system provider for the Marine Corps CCA development agreement)

### Sources
- [Talon Blue Debuts In Autonomous Flight From Mojave - Defense Daily](https://www.defensedaily.com/talon-blue-debuts-in-autonomous-flight-from-mojave/air-force) - Defense Daily
- [Northrop logs first flight for self-funded drone wingman - Breaking Defense](https://breakingdefense.com/2026/10/northrop-logs-first-flight-for-self-funded-drone-wingman) - Breaking Defense
- [Northrop's Talon Blue Completes Maiden Autonomous Flight](https://www.executivebiz.com/articles/northrop-yfq-48a-talon-blue-autonomous-flight) - ExecutiveBiz