Northrop Grumman has unveiled its one-way attack drone, the “Lumberjack,” at the Modern Day Marine expo in Washington, DC.
The modular, jet-powered loitering munition can be launched from the ground or the air and functions autonomously or under human control via an onboard data link that enables real-time communications.
It can be configured for use in electronic warfare, reconnaissance, or kinetic strikes, where the Lumberjack can deploy submunitions, including the company’s six-pound (2.7-kilogram) Hatchet precision strike weapon.
“You can basically put in kinetic effects from a forward-deployed ground base… So you can have an ability to sort of reach out and defend surface and land capabilities, as well as air deploy, and have non-kinetic electronic warfare protection for your main forces,” Northrop’s Director of Technology Michael Bastin told The War Zone.
Group 3 UAS
The Lumberjack belongs to the Pentagon’s Group 3 unmanned aerial systems (UAS) category, classifying it as a large drone weighing anywhere between 55 and 1,320 pounds (24 and 598 kilograms).
It can move between 100 and 250 knots (185 kilometers/115 miles per hour to 463 kilometers/287 miles per hour) at an altitude of up to 18,000 feet (5,486 meters).
Additionally, the attack drone reportedly has a strike radius of over 200 miles (321 kilometers), which can be traded to extend its loitering endurance for up to a couple of hours.
Launch Options
The kamikaze drone has been completing tests since 2024, and Northrop is now looking for a buyer to transition it from prototype to operational use.
During trials, the system demonstrated its ability to be launched from an electric rail system, showing potential for use in naval surface combatants.
It has also been deployed from a pneumatic launcher, which is “basically a large, effectively a potato gun. Very cheap, very easy to build. You can build it in, you know, local components,” according to Bastin.
Meanwhile, Northrop is still smoothing out the details for air-launching the jet-powered drone beyond just helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. The drone is roughly the same size as a Small Diameter Bomb, so it can use similar mounting points on aircraft.
The Lumberjack combines modular payloads, extended range, and flexible launch options at an apparently affordable cost, depending on the type of payload used.
