London — The British Royal Navy plans to test Northrop Grumman’s TALON autonomous aircraft from a Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier in UK waters in 2027. The demonstration will support the Navy’s efforts to introduce uncrewed combat aircraft alongside its existing F-35B Lightning II fighters.
First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins announced the plan on November 10, 2026, during the International Sea Power Conference aboard HMS Prince of Wales in Oslo, Norway. He said the Royal Navy would sign a statement of intent with Northrop Grumman on November 12 to prepare the TALON demonstrator for trials under Project VANQUISH.
The demonstration will include a carrier launch and assess how autonomous aircraft can operate safely alongside the existing carrier air wing.
Project VANQUISH Requirements
The UK Ministry of Defence's October 2025 request for information specified a jet-powered autonomous aircraft capable of high-subsonic speeds and short take-offs and landings from Queen Elizabeth-class carriers. The aircraft must operate without catapults or arresting wires and provide sufficient payload capacity and endurance for carrier strike missions.
Potential roles include intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), strike operations and aerial refuelling in support of F-35B fighters. The carriers use ski-jump-assisted take-offs and vertical landings, creating specific requirements for autonomous aircraft operations.
Northrop Grumman's TALON Programme
Northrop Grumman's internally funded Project TALON includes the crewed Talon IQ, used to test autonomy technologies, and the uncrewed YFQ-48A Talon Blue Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) demonstrator.
Talon Blue completed its first fully autonomous flight on October 3, 2026, at Mojave Air and Space Port in California. The flight covered taxiing, take-off, manoeuvres and landing. It was developed with support from Northrop Grumman's Scaled Composites subsidiary and uses a Pratt & Whitney PW500-series turbofan.
The Royal Navy previously tested General Atomics' Mojave uncrewed aircraft aboard HMS Prince of Wales in 2023. The planned TALON demonstration will introduce a jet-powered platform into its carrier-based autonomous aircraft trials.
The programme supports the Navy's Maritime Aviation Transformation (MATX) strategy, which aims to develop a hybrid air wing combining crewed fighters, helicopters and uncrewed aircraft. The 2027 trial will provide technical evidence for future decisions and does not confirm a procurement contract or operational entry into Royal Navy service.
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