According to Northrop Grumman, Project Talon combines mission flexibility with advanced modular manufacturing techniques to reduce production timelines and prioritise speed and simplicity. The aircraft is intended to act as a force multiplier, supporting crewed and uncrewed platforms to increase lethality, adaptability and operational effectiveness.
The company states that Project Talon extends collaborative aircraft technology to help U.S. and international customers project power in rapidly changing threat environments. Northrop Grumman notes it has more than 500,000 autonomous flight test hours, drawing on seven decades of experience in autonomy.
Project Talon was designed and built in under 24 months and remains on track for its first flight. The company’s autonomous testbed ecosystem, known as Beacon, was used to test Project Talon’s avionics software in real-world conditions.
Northrop Grumman adds that Project Talon builds on its long history of autonomous systems developed for every domain. The unveiling follows the release of Beacon earlier this year, which the company cites as evidence that it is advancing autonomy with speed and decisive action.
