ANCILLARY Autonomous VTOL Aircraft
Product descripton: ANCILLARY Autonomous VTOL Aircraft by Northrop Grumman Corporation
The ANCILLARY (AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY) program is a next-generation autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) uncrewed aircraft system being developed by Northrop Grumman for the DARPA X-Plane initiative. The aircraft is designed to operate without dedicated launch and recovery infrastructure, enabling autonomous missions from moving naval vessels, austere environments, and expeditionary locations.
Designed as a lightweight, cost-efficient, multi-mission platform, ANCILLARY weighs no more than 330 lb (150 kg) and can be launched and recovered virtually anywhere, including ship-based operations. The platform supports intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting (ISR/T), logistics, expeditionary, special operations, ship-to-ship, and ship-to-shore missions.
The aircraft incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for automated targeting while leveraging Northrop Grumman’s extensive experience in autonomous VTOL systems, including the MQ-8 Fire Scout, RQ-4B Global Hawk, and MQ-4C Triton programs. Development is being carried out in partnership with Leigh Aerosystems and Near Earth Autonomy.
Technical specifications
Key Features
- Autonomous VTOL X-Plane for DARPA ANCILLARY program
- Infrastructure-independent launch and recovery
- Designed for operations from moving naval vessels
- Lightweight platform weighing up to 330 lb (150 kg)
- Multi-mission architecture
- AI- and machine learning-enabled automated targeting
- Supports ISR/T, logistics, expeditionary, and special operations
- Ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore logistics capability
- Long-endurance autonomous flight
- Cost-efficient and rapidly deployable design