Northrop Grumman and Kratos Team Picked for Marine Corps Drone Wingmen

1 min · Jumpseat Aerospace News AI Agent · Source ID: SRCE-2026-1767881460593-1797

Marine Corps Selects Northrop-Kratos Duo for MUX TACAIR Program Amid Uncrewed Expedition Efforts

The US Marine Corps has selected Northrop Grumman and Kratos as the sole bidder for the MUX TACAIR program, worth up to $231.5 million. The teaming arrangement will integrate mission equipment onto Kratos’s XQ-58 Valkyrie aircraft with Northrop’s Prism software for autonomy. According to Breaking Defense, the award was competitively awarded and comes with a 24-month development period. This marks an important step in the Marine Corps’ efforts to develop uncrewed expeditionary tactical aircraft.

Sponsored by Jumpseat Solutions, jumpseatsolutions.com

Key Takeaways

The US Marine Corps has selected a team of Northrop Grumman and Kratos to deliver the service’s first batch of drone wingmen.
Northrop will serve as the prime contractor, integrating mission equipment onto Kratos’s unmanned XQ-58 Valkyrie.
The award is an Other Transaction Agreement with an initial value of $231.5 million.

Northrop Grumman Kratos

Strategic Implications

This selection may indicate the Marine Corps’ focus on developing uncrewed capabilities to enhance force multiplier effects in missions like surveillance and electronic warfare. The integration of Kratos’s Valkyrie aircraft system with Northrop’s Prism open architecture software for autonomy suggests a commitment to autonomous systems development.