Northrop Grumman introduced the completion of the autonomous taxi exams of the YFQ-48A Talon Blue, the corporate’s pitch for the U.S. Air Pressure’s Collaborative Fight Plane program.
Northrop Grumman introduced in a submit on social media on Might 18, 2026, that it has accomplished the autonomous taxi exams of the YFQ-48A Talon Blue uncrewed plane. The YFQ-48 is the corporate’s pitch for the U.S. Air Pressure’s Collaborative Fight Plane (CCA) program.
Along with the announcement, Northrop Grumman has additionally launched a brief video exhibiting the plane transferring on the runway, adopted by a pickup truck doubtless carrying security observers. The corporate says that, following this milestone, the plane is now accelerating towards the primary flight.
Autonomous taxi check full.
YFQ-48A Talon Blue accelerates progress towards first flight in partnership with the @usairforce. pic.twitter.com/8N5czGkMun
— Northrop Grumman (@northropgrumman) Might 18, 2026
No particulars have been offered about when and the place the check was performed. The plane has been present process floor testing at the least for a month, in line with a earlier report by Flight International, presumably on the Mojave Air and House Port, the place it was first unveiled.
YFQ-48A
Northrop Grumman first unveiled its new unmanned platform on Dec. 3, 2025, on the Mojave Air and House Port, after creating it largely in secrecy. On Dec. 22, the U.S. Air Pressure has introduced that it has assigned the Mission Design Collection (MDS) YFQ-48A to the plane, which was initially identified solely as Undertaking Talon.
pic.twitter.com/CuOQgM9LXm
— TaskForce23 (@Task_Force23) Might 18, 2026
As beforehand defined, this MDS defines the semi-autonomous plane as an unmanned fighter. In reality, YFQ means prototypes (as indicated by the ‘Y’ standing prefix) of UAVs (as denoted by the ‘Q’ car kind code) with the meant function as a fighter (indicated by the ‘F’ primary mission).
The service mentioned on the time that the designation “highlights the continuing partnership between the Air Pressure and Northrop Grumman and acknowledges the continued progress of the YFQ-48A as a powerful contender within the CCA program.” The Air Pressure is presently getting ready to pick out designs for the Increment 2 of this system, with the YFQ-48A being one of many potential contenders.
pic.twitter.com/oNH6qgchIt
— TaskForce23 (@Task_Force23) April 24, 2026
The YFQ-48A joined the 2 different CCAs, the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A, which acquired the identical unmanned fighter prototype designation in March 2025. These two plane, presently in flight testing, are a part of the CCA’s program Increment 1.
Northrop Grumman initially outlined the YFQ-48A as a brand new autonomous plane demonstrator constructed to validate sooner and extra reasonably priced manufacturing strategies for giant uncrewed platforms. The corporate additionally described this system as a response to classes discovered from its unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Air Pressure’s Collaborative Fight Plane (CCA) Increment 1.
Talon aimed to search out the proper steadiness between functionality and price, with Tom Jones, president of Northrop’s aeronautics methods division, saying the end result was a design that’s each cheaper and extra succesful. The plane incorporates a shovel-shaped nostril, lengthy slender fuselage, low side ratio lambda wing planform, high mounted engine air inlet and exhaust, and canted twin tails.
The design seems optimized for top efficiency and agility, with low-observable traits additionally seen. Relating to the powerplant, Northrop Grumman confirmed solely that Talon makes use of a single turbofan engine, however declined to establish the producer or thrust class.
In April 2026, the corporate introduced that Pratt & Whitney would offer the engine, particularly the PW500. The engine-maker undertook an intensive engine check program to increase the business limits of its PW500 engine household for Talon Blue, testing simulated flight and operational circumstances distinctive to CCA missions.
The engine is equipped air by a trapezoidal dorsal inlet mounted above the aft fuselage, whereas the exhaust is positioned between the canted tail surfaces. The nostril part options check instrumentation typical of early flight-test articles, together with three air information probes extending ahead of the radome.
The corporate didn’t touch upon whether or not the demonstrator is meant to hold shops internally. Nonetheless, a big trapezoidal panel on the underside of the fuselage may presumably point out area for an inner bay.
