The verified answer
As of Sep 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
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
U.S. Army signs $862.8M deal for 155mm shell guidance kits
Northrop Grumman CEO says new robotic satellite-servicing systems will reinforce U.S. resilience and long-term advantage in space
Northrop Grumman says 1,600 F-35 center fuselages delivered on schedule as Palmdale line sustains one unit every 30 hours
Peers
99 peers across 1 segment. Every Northrop Grumman competitor derived from shared form-factor and application-domain edges.
drone(99)
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
Financial state
- Reporting basis
- sec_10k
- Revenue disclosed
- $41000000000 (sec_10k)
- Lifecycle stage
- mature
- Counterparty risk class
- low
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
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 2026-08-21
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-08-21
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
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Baykar4 models
- Earendil Robotics4 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Northrop Grumman from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
U.S. Army signs $862.8M deal for 155mm shell guidance kits
The U.S. Army has awarded Northrop Grumman an $862.8 million contract to manufacture and deliver M1156 precision guidance kits, according to a Department of War contract…
Northrop Grumman CEO says new robotic satellite-servicing systems will reinforce U.S. resilience and long-term advantage in space
Northrop Grumman has launched its first Mission Robotic Vehicle and three Mission Extension Pods, broadening its in-space capabilities from satellite life extension to autonomous…
Northrop Grumman says 1,600 F-35 center fuselages delivered on schedule as Palmdale line sustains one unit every 30 hours
Northrop Grumman has delivered 1,600 F-35 Lightning II center fuselages on schedule, extending output from an automated California plant built to support U.S. and international…
Curtiss-Wright wins Northrop Grumman deal to supply threat-detection processors for U.S. Army Apache and future MV-75 aircraft
Curtiss-Wright said on September 1 that it had received an approximately $14 million contract from Northrop Grumman to supply sensor-processing equipment for the U.S. Army’s…
Northrop gets $86M for security systems at nuclear missile bases
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman an $86.1 million task order to maintain the security cameras and sensors that watch over America’s nuclear missile silos. The task…
Diamond-cooled microchips boost power density 3.3x for military radar signals
Northrop Grumman has secured a $7 million DARPA contract to develop diamond-enhanced microchips that could...
New F-16 defense system hits 500 flight hours after 300 sorties of testing
Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Viper Electronic Warfare Suite (IVEWS) has surpassed 500 flight hours and 300...
Northrop Grumman says IVEWS surpasses 500 flight hours and 300 sorties, strengthening F-16 defences against advanced threats
The U.S. Air Force has selected IVEWS as the electronic warfare program of record for its F-16 fleet.
Boeing, RTX Win $766 Mil In B-52 Modernization Contracts, Northrop Tapped For Deep Space Radar
Air Force enlists Boeing, RTX for B-52 modernization program. Northrop Grumman receives update for deep space radar contract. The post Boeing, RTX Win $766 Mil In B-52…
Northrop CEO Expects ‘Decent Share’ of Golden Dome Contracts
Northrop Grumman Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kathy Warden said the Trump administration’s Golden Dome space defense system was becoming “very tangible” for defense contractors…
Northrop Grumman says IBCS will unify Patriot, THAAD and next-generation sensors under one U.S. Army missile defense network
Northrop Grumman said IBCS has completed 34 successful flight tests involving 44 intercepts.
Northrop Grumman CEO says B-21 production could accelerate as U.S. Air Force reviews larger sixth-generation stealth bomber fleet
The U.S. Air Force’s B-21 Raider is moving toward its first operational delivery in 2027 with the acquisition program running ahead of schedule, while Northrop Grumman expands the…
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
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Baykar4 models
- Earendil Robotics4 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 91st percentile but verifies reality at the 74th percentile among aerial robots. Hype Gap +17.3, 40th 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: Sep 6, 2026