Innovation

Coal producer Core Natural Resources’ subsidiary Touchstone Advanced Composites has scored a leading role in the manufacturing of an advanced autonomous combat aircraft being made by Northrop Grumman.

Core, formerly known as Consol Energy, is a major producer of coal in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the western United States. Core has an extensive innovation division, which Touchstone joined in 2023. Touchstone’s premier product is Cfoam, a carbon foam made from Core-produced bituminous coal put under high pressure and baked into tooling and composite parts for aerospace and other industries. The company recently celebrated an expansion in Triadelphia, WV, where it makes finished aircraft parts.

Talon Blue is Northrop Grumman’s effort to use advanced manufacturing and composites to make a lighter, cheaper, and easier-to-make aircraft.

“Our depth allows us to deliver aircraft that aren’t just autonomous, they are mission capable on day one,” said Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems President Tom Jones in a statement.