US Navy receives 200th GQM-163A Coyote from Northrop

Northrop Grumman has announced the delivery of the 200th GQM-163A “Coyote” target vehicle to the U.S. Navy, continuing a program that has supported ship defense readiness for more than two decades.

In a statement released last week, the company said, “We recently delivered the 200th GQM-163A ‘Coyote’ target vehicle to the US Navy. For more than 20 years, GQM-163A targets have provided sophisticated training scenarios to prepare sailors for potential operational threats.”

The Coyote is a supersonic sea-skimming target system designed to replicate the flight profile and performance of advanced anti-ship cruise missiles. According to Northrop Grumman, it is the only system of its kind currently produced in the United States and remains the program of record for the Navy’s high-speed threat simulation requirements.

The GQM-163A is used in fleet training exercises and shipboard missile defense testing, offering a cost-effective solution to simulate hostile missile behavior. It enables naval units to engage in realistic live-fire scenarios that help validate the effectiveness of surface-to-air defenses.

Northrop Grumman is responsible for the full lifecycle of the Coyote program, including program management, systems engineering, production, integrated logistics, and support for research, development, and evaluation. The company also oversees flight-testing and integration into ship defense systems.

As noted by the company, the Coyote system plays a central role in the Navy’s ability to prepare for threats posed by high-speed, sea-skimming weapons—capabilities that have become more widely proliferated in recent years. The Coyote travels at supersonic speeds and flies at low altitudes, mimicking the behavior of missiles that pose serious challenges to shipboard defense systems.