Northrop Grumman began autonomous testing of a vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aircraft it has designed for the US Navy.

Northrop Grumman, together with Schweizer Aircraft Corporation and Lockheed Martin Federal Systems Owego, has submitted a proposal for the Navy's Vertical Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VTUAV) competition, which will provide an unmanned aircraft to fly from any "air capable" combat ship for real-time reconnaissance and targeting missions.

The Navy is expected to announce a contract award by March 1.

Northrop Grumman's Ryan Aeronautical Center in San Diego modified Schweizer's FAA-certified model 330SP manned helicopter to provide a vehicle as part of the VTUAV system that surpasses naval requirements. Those requirements are to carry a 200-lb. payload while taking off vertically, flying 110 nautical miles, loitering for three hours at up to 20,000 feet and returning to land vertically in a 25-knot wind from any direction.

The aircraft under test will have electro-optical and infrared sensors and a laser designator that assists precision strike missions from other platforms.

To date, 39 manned test flights of the aircraft, which uses the global positioning system for navigation, were completed at Schweizer's facility in Elmira, NY, prior to being transported to San Diego. Following completion of modifications that make the vehicle capable of autonomous operations, testing resumed there in early December.

Tests completed to date include fully autonomous preflight checkout and engine operation initiated by command from the ground control station. After completion of the checkout of the flight control system, the helicopter will be transferred to the Naval Air Warfare Center at China Lake, California, where more extensive, fully autonomous test operations are planned to include autonomous GPS navigation flights in January.

"We have made real progress in the testing of our proposed VTUAV system," said Doug Fronius, vice president-Advanced Development for Northrop Grumman's Unmanned Systems product team. "The combination of a world-class team, an FAA-certified aircraft and the integration of a proven UAV avionics and software architecture makes for a low-risk test program. Our expectations for reliability and robust performance continue to be met or exceeded, allowing us to proceed with this aggressive flight test schedule."