The verified answer
As of Oct 2026, DEPLOY verifies Northrop Grumman: 2 models, 4 deployments across 4 regions, 1 active incident. 7 sources back the record.
CategoryDrones
Appears inMilitary & defense drones
Overview
Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) is a global aerospace and defense technology company with seven decades of autonomous systems experience and 500,000+ autonomous flight hours. Develops unmanned aerial, ground, and undersea vehicles for defense applications.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 4 deployments on file
- Active incidents
- 1 incident on file
Key facts
Focus
Products
Stage
NYSE
Autonomous flight hours
Key products
Data & sources
Patent documents
6
Web sources
1
7 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (2)
View all models →Current platform
CUTLASS UGV
Six-wheeled next-generation EOD robot developed by Northrop Grumman Remotec for UK MoD. Replaced Wheelbarrow UGV for British Army bomb disposal teams.
Current platform
RQ-4 Global Hawk
High-altitude long-endurance reconnaissance UAV. 30+ hour endurance, 60,000 ft altitude, all-weather ISR platform. US and NATO operator.
Partnerships
Every company Northrop Grumman has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most-frequent partners
- 1Apex Space1× joint2 total
Most recent
- Apex Space x Northrop Grumman2026-06-01with Apex Spacejust announced
Northrop Grumman on the deployment map
View the global map4 verified deployments across 4 regions, newest verified Nov 2020. Explore where Northrop Grumman's robots are operating, by place and type.
- operationalRQ-4 Global Hawk at Sigonella (NAS Sigonella, Sicily) →Italy · verified Nov 2020
- operationalRQ-4 Global Hawk at Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota →Midwest · verified Jun 2019
- operationalCUTLASS UGV at United Kingdom →Western Europe · verified Sep 2012
- operationalRQ-4 Global Hawk at Beale Air Force Base →California · verified Jan 2004
View the full Northrop Grumman deployment record →
Relationships
Current leadership (2)
- Kathy Warden Chair, CEO & Presidentsecondary-verified
- Richard S. Stapp VP & Chief Technology Officersecondary-verified
Safety record
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Incidents affecting Northrop Grumman (1)
Includes incidents linked directly to this company, to its models, or to deployments of its models or under its operation. Retracted incidents are excluded from this view but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Operator customers (1)
- Northrop Grumman4 deployments
Recent coverage
Northrop Grumman in third-party press
Peers
98 peers across 1 segment. Every Northrop Grumman competitor derived from shared form-factor and application-domain edges.
drone(98)
57 companies in this segment · moderately_concentrated (HHI 1809.2177305910177) · leader Anduril Industries at 3057%
- AEVEX Aerospacedirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- ATL Global Holding AGdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Aereodirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AeroVironmentdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AgXeeddirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AirForestrydirect competitor(inferred)moderate
Mentioned on (18)
Registry pages whose text names Northrop Grumman.
Partnerships
1 total · 1 just announced
Every company Northrop Grumman has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most recent
- Apex Space x Northrop Grumman2026-06-01with Apex Spacejust announced
Most-frequent partners
- 1Apex Space1× joint2 total
Patent estate (6)
- US10054958B2usptograntedgranted 2018-12-18assignee
- US9489852B1usptograntedgranted 2016-11-08assignee
- US9026272B2usptograntedgranted 2015-05-05assignee
- US5695153Ausptograntedgranted 1997-12-09assignee
- US10689109B2usptograntedgranted 2020-06-23assignee
- US20220223056A1usptopendingassignee
Timeline
Every recorded move in Northrop Grumman’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
PartnershipApex Space x Northrop Grumman
2026-06-01Apex teamed with Northrop Grumman to prototype technologies for space-based interceptors in support of the Golden Dome missile defense initiative. The collaboration targets space-based interceptor capabilities for 2027.
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Verified media addedVerifiedJun 11, 2026
RQ-4 Block 10 Global Hawk capabilities
- Record createdJun 8, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedNov 20, 2020
RQ-4 Global Hawk at Sigonella (NAS Sigonella, Sicily)
- Incident recordedJun 20, 2019
Iran shot down a US Navy RQ-4 (BAMS-D) surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz (2019)
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJun 20, 2019
RQ-4 Global Hawk at Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota
Sources (1)
Common questions
What is Northrop Grumman?
What does Northrop Grumman make?
Is Northrop Grumman publicly traded?
Who competes with Northrop Grumman?
Who is the CEO of Northrop Grumman?
How can I invest in Northrop Grumman?
Where is Northrop Grumman headquartered?
Who owns Northrop Grumman?
Where does Northrop Grumman operate robots?
How many robots has Northrop Grumman deployed?
Is Northrop Grumman a top robotics company?
When was Northrop Grumman founded?
Are there any incidents involving Northrop Grumman?
Is Northrop Grumman safe?
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-10-10
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-10-10
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Northrop Grumman.Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- DJI9 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- Skydio6 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Baykar4 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Northrop Grumman from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Northrop Grumman beats on profit, misses on revenue by $20 million and raises its outlook
US Army showing interest in G/ATOR missile-killing radar, Northrop says
Northrop Grumman’s new multi-mission radar system has earned high marks from Marine Corps leadership. The U.S. Army has taken notice.
Vertical Aerospace adds seating and navigation suppliers for Valo
ANH Structure and Northrop Grumman LITEF will supply seating and inertial reference systems for Vertical's Valo aircraft The post Vertical Aerospace adds seating and navigation…
Vertical Aerospace Bolsters Supplier Network With Northrop Grumman LITEF and ANH Structure
Vertical Aerospace has signed long-term supplier agreements with ANH Structure and Northrop Grumman LITEF to provide seating and inertial navigation The post Vertical Aerospace…
Building Mass with Industry: Industrial Capacity Is Combat Power
The session on building mass with industry opened with a disclaimer. Air Vice Marshal Robert Denney, Northrop Grumman’s Country Executive for Australia, told the audience he had…
Building Mass with Industry: Industrial Capacity Is Combat Power
The session on building mass with industry opened with a disclaimer. Air Vice Marshal Robert Denney, Northrop Grumman’s Country Executive for Australia, told the audience he had…
Northrop Grumman breaks out the big guns at AUSA
Amid the cruise missiles and microelectronics, the company also had something a little more familiar: guns. Big guns. Like, really big guns.
Northrop Grumman to upgrade U.S. Army’s IBCS for greater mobility and battlefield survivability
Northrop Grumman will build two prototypes of a more protected, mobile command workspace for the U.S. Army’s Integrated Battle Command System under a $21 million contract.
Barrett to build Northrop’s 25mm smart grenade launcher
Northrop Grumman has teamed up with Barrett Firearms to build the launcher for its Precision Grenadier System, a shoulder-fired 25 mm grenade launcher meant to let infantry squads…
SpaceX Launches First 21 Northrop Grumman Satellites for SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer
On Saturday, October 10, 2026, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 3:39 a.m. Eastern, successfully deploying 21 Northrop…
Northrop Grumman completes B-2 Spirit of Kitty Hawk overhaul, restoring stealth surfaces
The bomber underwent structural repairs and restoration of its stealth surfaces at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/northrop-grumman.md
- RSS feed: /companies/northrop-grumman/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/84ed1bd7-576c-479f-bcb2-d9cc0a1feb2f
- Revision history: /companies/northrop-grumman/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- DJI9 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- Skydio6 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Baykar4 models
Video
Northrop Grumman completed an acoustic test of the Sentinel ICBM's front end at its Large Acoustic Test Facility in Redondo Beach, California, with Lawrence Liv
Northrop Grumman just tested the warhead of the new Sentinel ICBM — the missile built to replace America's aging Minuteman III. Acoustic testing proves it can s
Heat Index
Serious52/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
Northrop Grumman draws attention at the 93rd percentile but verifies reality at the 70th percentile among aerial robots. Hype Gap +23.1, 29th widest among aerial robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Safety profile within acceptable range for category. Meaningful press and media coverage across the period. Limited public funding data for capital position assessment.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Oct 20, 2026