Beacon merges Northrop Grumman’s advanced flight software and hardware with external partners’ mission systems, creating a collaborative platform for innovation. The initiative aims to fast-track new autonomous capabilities by reducing development time and cost.
“Beacon is sixth-generation autonomous software development,” said Tom Jones, corporate vice president and president, Aeronautics Systems, Northrop Grumman. “It’s backed by our decades of leadership in designing and building operational autonomous aircraft and it’s serving as a bridge across industry to significantly reduce the time and cost it takes to bring new autonomous mission capabilities to our customers.”
The system supports an open-access model aligned with government reference architectures, allowing external developers to integrate and mature their technologies in a real-world setting. This approach supports rapid deployment, lowers risk, and enhances readiness for both partners and customers.
Beacon is built around the Scaled Composites Model 437 Vanguard aircraft, now modified for optionally autonomous flight. This platform enables the testing and validation of flight autonomy software with greater speed and flexibility.
“The demand for new autonomous capability has grown exponentially,” Jones added. “Northrop Grumman has answered that call by investing to bring together industry partners who are innovating new solutions with those who have the production and operational experience at scale to deliver it.”
The programme is funded through Northrop Grumman’s internal research and development investments, part of the company’s $13.5 billion spend on R&D and infrastructure over the past five years. Multiple industry partners are already involved, with a series of flight demonstrations scheduled for later this year.
By combining internal expertise with partner innovation, Beacon aims to support future aircraft programmes and establish a foundation for the next generation of autonomous systems.
