Northrop Grumman to start Beacon drone trials to expand AI use in future US military jets
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Northrop Grumman will start the flight trials of its Beacon drone testbed in 2025, linking artificial intelligence with real aircraft for the first time in this program to explore how AI can support future US military jets and pilot missions.
As reported by Aviation Week on September 17, 2025, Northrop Grumman will conduct the first flight demonstrations for its Beacon autonomous testbed this year using the Scaled Composites-built Model 437 aircraft. The company announced that six initial partners, Applied Intuition, Autonodyne, Merlin, Red 6, Shield AI, and SoarTech, will use the platform to refine their autonomy software in live airborne conditions. A safety pilot will oversee operations, allowing control to switch between human and computer during missions, while the demonstrations will validate capabilities such as teaming, navigation, and mission-specific applications.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
By combining third-party mission software with Northrop Grumman’s flight autonomy systems, the Beacon program allows partners to validate specialized capabilities such as navigation, teaming, and operational mission performance between piloted and fully autonomous modes. (Picture source: Northrop Grumman)
This will mark the first time the Beacon will be used in flight after being introduced in mid-2025. Northrop Grumman describes Beacon as an open-access testbed aligned with government reference architectures and informed by more than 500,000 hours of autonomous flight experience. The company has positioned it as a mechanism to reduce development risks, shorten software deployment timelines, and accelerate the development, validation, and integration of next-generation autonomous capabilities. Partners will be able to run their autonomy stacks alongside Northrop Grumman’s baseline systems in an integrated and operationally relevant environment. The effort is part of the company’s broader digital and infrastructure investments, which have totaled $13.5 billion over the past five years. Executives have stated that Beacon is intended to bring together Northrop Grumman’s proven flight systems, established aerospace firms, and newer entrants in the artificial intelligence and autonomy fields, providing them with repeatable access to flight validation.
Northrop Grumman highlighted that the system was created with internal research and development funds, part of its broader $13.5 billion investment over five years in R&D and infrastructure. As the demand for new autonomous capabilities had grown substantially, the participating companies will provide mission software that can be tested on Beacon’s Model 437 platform with integration support from Northrop Grumman. According to statements from program officials, Beacon provides foundational safety and navigation functions, while partner companies bring specialized applications. A safety pilot will remain onboard during early testing to allow seamless transfer between human and computer control. This configuration is expected to reduce risk while enabling evaluation of new mission software. Beacon flights are planned to advance throughout 2025 and are intended to raise the maturity level of autonomy packages across different use cases, providing a clear path to mature technology for potential transition to operational aircraft.
The Model 437 itself is central to the Beacon ecosystem. Developed by Scaled Composites with design contributions from Northrop Grumman’s Digital Pathfinder initiative, the aircraft completed its first flight on August 29, 2024. It has a wingspan and length of 41 feet, a maximum takeoff weight of approximately 10,000 pounds, and is powered by a Pratt & Whitney PW535 engine producing 3,400 pounds of thrust. Expected performance includes a top speed near Mach 0.85, a maximum range of 3,000 nautical miles, and an endurance of up to six hours. The platform can carry up to 2,000 pounds of payload in various locations, including an internal bay sized to fit two AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles. The Model 437’s optionally piloted configuration allows frequent, lower-cost test sorties, complementing government testbeds such as the X-62A and Project Venom.
Beacon builds on the digital engineering work completed during the Digital Pathfinder project, which demonstrated that engineering rework could be reduced to less than one percent compared to the 15 to 20 percent typical of traditional methods. Pathfinder connected engineers, suppliers, and customers through a single digital thread and used high-fidelity modeling to validate design decisions. The initiative also applied advanced manufacturing, including plasma arc directed energy deposition to produce a titanium structural bracket, reportedly the first such use on a defense aircraft. Northrop Grumman has stated that these methods accelerated the prototyping process, improved initial build quality, and reduced the need for hard tooling. The Digital Pathfinder effort enabled the Model 437 to move from detailed design to first flight in 21 months, a timeline that supports Beacon’s emphasis on rapid integration and flight testing.
Executives have described Beacon as a collaborative framework that connects flight-proven autonomy with new mission software, allowing the integration of multiple solutions from different contributors. Although Northrop Grumman was not selected for the first increment of the U.S. Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, the company is competing for Increment 2 and presents Beacon as directly relevant to emerging autonomy requirements. The program is structured to provide business-jet-class operating costs and sortie rates rather than those of combat aircraft, with Northrop supplying its own test equipment and telemetry. The Model 437 and the Beacon ecosystem are intended to demonstrate autonomy at scale while giving partner companies a path to bring their applications from development into airborne trials.
As Beacon progresses through 2025, Northrop Grumman will continue to integrate multiple autonomy solutions in its open-access environment. The company’s internal PRISM autonomy system will handle baseline flight and safety functions, allowing partner applications to focus on mission-specific tasks such as teaming or navigation. Northrop Grumman has said this approach reduces technical risk before software is transitioned to production aircraft. The company presents Beacon as a platform that supports future aviation programs by enabling faster software deployment, lowering development risks, and improving readiness. The upcoming flight demonstrations are intended to provide data that confirms these objectives and establishes Beacon as a tool for accelerating the development of operational autonomy.
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{loadposition sidebarpub}
Northrop Grumman will start the flight trials of its Beacon drone testbed in 2025, linking artificial intelligence with real aircraft for the first time in this program to explore how AI can support future US military jets and pilot missions.
As reported by Aviation Week on September 17, 2025, Northrop Grumman will conduct the first flight demonstrations for its Beacon autonomous testbed this year using the Scaled Composites-built Model 437 aircraft. The company announced that six initial partners, Applied Intuition, Autonodyne, Merlin, Red 6, Shield AI, and SoarTech, will use the platform to refine their autonomy software in live airborne conditions. A safety pilot will oversee operations, allowing control to switch between human and computer during missions, while the demonstrations will validate capabilities such as teaming, navigation, and mission-specific applications.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
By combining third-party mission software with Northrop Grumman’s flight autonomy systems, the Beacon program allows partners to validate specialized capabilities such as navigation, teaming, and operational mission performance between piloted and fully autonomous modes. (Picture source: Northrop Grumman)
This will mark the first time the Beacon will be used in flight after being introduced in mid-2025. Northrop Grumman describes Beacon as an open-access testbed aligned with government reference architectures and informed by more than 500,000 hours of autonomous flight experience. The company has positioned it as a mechanism to reduce development risks, shorten software deployment timelines, and accelerate the development, validation, and integration of next-generation autonomous capabilities. Partners will be able to run their autonomy stacks alongside Northrop Grumman’s baseline systems in an integrated and operationally relevant environment. The effort is part of the company’s broader digital and infrastructure investments, which have totaled $13.5 billion over the past five years. Executives have stated that Beacon is intended to bring together Northrop Grumman’s proven flight systems, established aerospace firms, and newer entrants in the artificial intelligence and autonomy fields, providing them with repeatable access to flight validation.
Northrop Grumman highlighted that the system was created with internal research and development funds, part of its broader $13.5 billion investment over five years in R&D and infrastructure. As the demand for new autonomous capabilities had grown substantially, the participating companies will provide mission software that can be tested on Beacon’s Model 437 platform with integration support from Northrop Grumman. According to statements from program officials, Beacon provides foundational safety and navigation functions, while partner companies bring specialized applications. A safety pilot will remain onboard during early testing to allow seamless transfer between human and computer control. This configuration is expected to reduce risk while enabling evaluation of new mission software. Beacon flights are planned to advance throughout 2025 and are intended to raise the maturity level of autonomy packages across different use cases, providing a clear path to mature technology for potential transition to operational aircraft.
The Model 437 itself is central to the Beacon ecosystem. Developed by Scaled Composites with design contributions from Northrop Grumman’s Digital Pathfinder initiative, the aircraft completed its first flight on August 29, 2024. It has a wingspan and length of 41 feet, a maximum takeoff weight of approximately 10,000 pounds, and is powered by a Pratt & Whitney PW535 engine producing 3,400 pounds of thrust. Expected performance includes a top speed near Mach 0.85, a maximum range of 3,000 nautical miles, and an endurance of up to six hours. The platform can carry up to 2,000 pounds of payload in various locations, including an internal bay sized to fit two AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles. The Model 437’s optionally piloted configuration allows frequent, lower-cost test sorties, complementing government testbeds such as the X-62A and Project Venom.
Beacon builds on the digital engineering work completed during the Digital Pathfinder project, which demonstrated that engineering rework could be reduced to less than one percent compared to the 15 to 20 percent typical of traditional methods. Pathfinder connected engineers, suppliers, and customers through a single digital thread and used high-fidelity modeling to validate design decisions. The initiative also applied advanced manufacturing, including plasma arc directed energy deposition to produce a titanium structural bracket, reportedly the first such use on a defense aircraft. Northrop Grumman has stated that these methods accelerated the prototyping process, improved initial build quality, and reduced the need for hard tooling. The Digital Pathfinder effort enabled the Model 437 to move from detailed design to first flight in 21 months, a timeline that supports Beacon’s emphasis on rapid integration and flight testing.
Executives have described Beacon as a collaborative framework that connects flight-proven autonomy with new mission software, allowing the integration of multiple solutions from different contributors. Although Northrop Grumman was not selected for the first increment of the U.S. Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, the company is competing for Increment 2 and presents Beacon as directly relevant to emerging autonomy requirements. The program is structured to provide business-jet-class operating costs and sortie rates rather than those of combat aircraft, with Northrop supplying its own test equipment and telemetry. The Model 437 and the Beacon ecosystem are intended to demonstrate autonomy at scale while giving partner companies a path to bring their applications from development into airborne trials.
As Beacon progresses through 2025, Northrop Grumman will continue to integrate multiple autonomy solutions in its open-access environment. The company’s internal PRISM autonomy system will handle baseline flight and safety functions, allowing partner applications to focus on mission-specific tasks such as teaming or navigation. Northrop Grumman has said this approach reduces technical risk before software is transitioned to production aircraft. The company presents Beacon as a platform that supports future aviation programs by enabling faster software deployment, lowering development risks, and improving readiness. The upcoming flight demonstrations are intended to provide data that confirms these objectives and establishes Beacon as a tool for accelerating the development of operational autonomy.
