In 1929, Leroy R. Grumman established the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation on Long Island, NY. By World War II, the company had been contracted by the United States Navy to build naval crafts that were pivotal in winning the war. In 1939, Jack Northrop established the Northrop Corporation in California, which designed experimental aircraft, eventually developing the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber for the United States Air Force. By the mid-1980s, Northrop relocated to Delaware. Then, in 1994, with the end of the Cold War, Northrop Corporation purchased Grumman Aerospace.

The merger of the two aerospace industry leaders, now Northrop Grumman, has gone on to become one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the world. With numerous other strategic acquisitions, nearly 100,000 employees, and a net value of $65.46 billion, Northrop Grumman was ranked 101st among the largest American corporations on the 2022 Fortune 500 list. The company continues to lead the way in the development of cutting-edge aerospace technology. They have contracts with all branches of the United States defense forces as well as NASA. “At Northrop Grumman,” the company website states, “we define possible by pioneering technologies at the edge of every frontier and creating revolutionary technology to connect, advance and protect the U.S. and its allies.”

In May 2024, Northrop Grumman announced that they had been developing a state-of-the-art submersible drone for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The new drone, Manta Ray, had already been in development for four years prior to the announcement. The drone was fully designed through digital processing and mimics its namesake, the manta ray fish that glides through the ocean. Giant oceanic manta rays can weigh up to 5,300 lbs with a wingspan of 30 ft. Though the exact dimensions of Northrop Grumman’s Manta Ray have yet to be released, it very much resembles a giant manta ray. It is categorized as an extra-large glider UUV (Unmanned Underwater Vehicle). It is so large that to get it from its development site in Maryland to the testing site in California, the drone had to be delivered in smaller modular pieces and then reassembled for launch in the water.

Testing for the Manta Ray drone began in February 2024 at the Naval Base Ventura County, about an hour and a half north of Los Angeles. One of the key design considerations for the drone was to develop a propulsion system that would be energy efficient, eliminate the need for any human intervention, and enable extended periods of use. This is why the team designed the drone to be a glider. “Gliders only need to change buoyancy for a few minutes at the top or bottom of their path,” the company website explains. “The rest of the time, they glide forward using minimal power and energy. This technology makes gliders operate more efficiently, which will enable Manta Ray to save power for long missions.”

Another way the drone conserves energy is by being able to anchor itself to the ocean floor. While anchored, the drone can collect data while recharging its energy reserves. It releases a tether with a pod that utilizes and absorbs the energy naturally created by ocean currents. This energy is then transferred through a cable to recharge the drone’s lithium-ion batteries. Other considerations had to be taken to ensure that the drone could carry out long endurance missions while accommodating bespoke payloads. “Our team had to be creative and innovative to find solutions that would work for a glider UUV as big as Manta Ray,” said Structural Engineer Hayley Sypniewski. “It’s not a one-to-one scale with typical glider UUVs; because of its size, we added more buoyancy engines, a bigger payload bay, an enhanced towing system and an extremely efficient and large hull system.”

As Northrop Grumman advances into the future with its cutting-edge technologies, the development of the Manta Ray drone stands as a testament to the company’s enduring legacy of innovation. “Our successful, full-scale Manta Ray testing validates the vehicle’s readiness to advance toward real-world operations after being rapidly assembled in the field from modular subsections,” Kyle Woerner, DARPA program manager for Manta Ray, said following the testing. While the tools and tactics of defense technology have evolved significantly since the early days of Grumman and Northrop, the core values of creativity and excellence remain unchanged. The Manta Ray not only exemplifies the sophisticated engineering capabilities of today but also underscores Northrop Grumman’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of aerospace and defense. As the drone nears full operational status, it promises to further enhance the strategic capabilities of the U.S. and its allies, reflecting the continued drive to lead and innovate in a rapidly changing world.

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