Northrop Grumman Tern

Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN), a joint program between DARPA and the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR), seeks to greatly increase the effectiveness of forward-deployed small-deck ships such as destroyers and frigates by enabling them to serve as mobile launch and recovery sites for specially designed unmanned aerial systems (UAS).¹ These vehicles are to carry 600 pounds (270 kg) of ordnance in order to conduct combat strikes.²³

The program culminated in successful Conceptual Design Reviews in summer 2014. In May 2014, DARPA and the ONR signed a Memorandum of Agreement, officially naming the project Tern. In October 2015, the Tern program passed a significant milestone with the successful completion Phase II preliminary design, culminating in a successful Preliminary Design Review.⁴

Northrop Grumman won the contract to develop the project in December 2015 with tail-sitter, flying wing aircraft with a twin nose-mounted contra-rotating propeller propulsion system.⁵⁶