Leonardo and Northrop Grumman announce their intention to jointly pursue opportunities in the field of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
Leveraging Leonardo’s expertise in rotorcraft and Northrop Grumman’s capabilities in advanced aeronautics and next-generation autonomous unmanned aerial systems, the companies will focus on jointly addressing global opportunities in the VTOL UAS market.
As reported by Leonardo in its press release, the companies will explore collaboration on air vehicle design, system architectures, payload optimization and their integration into next-generation battlespace architectures, focusing on customer requirements and «mission-based operations» concepts.
This agreement is the latest development in a successful long-term partnership between Northrop Grumman and Leonardo. The companies work closely together on airborne platform protection. This collaboration dates back to 1995, when the team jointly developed the AN/AAQ-24(V) Nemesis DIRCM for the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.K. Ministry of Defense. The companies are currently working on the U.S. Army’s Common Infrared Countermeasures (CIRCM) program, which will protect hundreds of aircraft.
Gian Piero Cutillo, CEO of Leonardo Helicopters, said, «We see this partnership as a great opportunity to leverage the synergies between Leonardo and Northrop Grumman in the field of VTOL and UAS technologies. This collaboration comes at a time when we see emerging military and civilian needs worldwide in the unmanned domain. This partnership will enable a robust and concerted approach to existing as well as next generation VTOL UAS technologies by two world-leading aerospace engineering companies».
Nick Chaffey, Managing Director for the UK, Europe and Middle East at Northrop Grumman, said «Northrop Grumman has decades of experience and unrivaled expertise in the development and delivery of unmanned and autonomous aerial systems, such as the RQ-4 Global Hawk, the MQ-8C Fire Scout, the Firebird, a UAS that has the capability to be optionally piloted, and the pioneering X-47B naval UCAV. There are many possibilities that our collaboration with Leonardo will offer customers around the world who are looking to solve new challenges in a complex and unpredictable threat environment».
Leonardo has developed remotely piloted systems and technologies across the board, with significant investment in platforms, sensors, communications and control systems, as well as capabilities to counter drones and technologies for unmanned systems traffic management and air traffic control. Leonardo is the only company in Europe capable of providing complete unmanned solutions, including platform, sensors, mission system and ground control stations. The company also offers a «drone service» model to customers, as it owns and operates its own UAS fleets and can provide intelligence and surveillance information directly to the user. The continued development and integration of leading-edge solutions in all areas of remote piloting and autonomous/semi-autonomous systems and technologies is a key element of Leonardo’s BeTomorrow2030 strategic plan.
Autonomous systems developed by Northrop Grumman operate around the world, around the clock, collecting essential C4ISR data over land and sea to enable rapid and informed decision making. In addition to developing new airborne systems, such as Project MOSQUITO for the RAF, Northrop Grumman’s Distributed Autonomy/Reactive Control (DA/RC) system, which is an advanced software prototype that enables command and control of a wide range of complex systems across all domains and services. This mature collaborative autonomy software provides superior decision making for a manned/unmanned fleet in a range of environments from permissive to highly contested.
