Leonardo and Northrop Grumman have announced their intention to jointly pursue opportunities in the Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) domain.
Drawing on Leonardo’s expertise in rotorcraft and Northrop Grumman’s capabilities in advanced aeronautics and next-generation autonomous uncrewed aerial systems, the companies will focus on jointly addressing global opportunities in the VTOL UAS market. The companies will consider collaboration on air vehicle design, system architectures, payload optimization, and integration within next-generation battlespace architectures, with a focus on customer requirements and mission-based Concepts of Operations.
The 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 goes back to 1995 when the team jointly developed the AN/AAQ-24(V) Nemesis DIRCM for the U.S. Department of Defense and U.K. Ministry of Defence. Today the companies are working to deliver the United States Army’s Common Infrared Countermeasures (CIRCM) program, which will protect hundreds of aircraft.
