Beacon coloring for Northrop Grumman Model 437 aircraft. The aircraft provides a platform for partners to fly mission software. (Northrop Grumman)
In June, Northrop Grumman announced the Beacon Project, a “testbed ecosystem designed to quickly provide new autonomous mission capabilities,” according to a company's statement at the time. The statement said it is linking third-party mission software to Northrop Grumman's flight software.
This allows us to innovate with some of the best companies in the AI industry [artificial intelligence] Dan Salluce, director of Northrop Grumman's Advanced Autonomy, spoke to reporters at a media briefing on September 16, ahead of the Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) 2025 Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, from September 22-24.
The program is built around a scaled composite model 437 Vanguard aircraft converted for autonomous flight, he said.
“What Beacon can do is embrace AI and autonomy and integrate it into the platform,” allowing other companies to work with Northrop Grumman's flight autonomy to demonstrate their products.
He will provide navigation and team capabilities based on manned teams, along with partners that bring more specialized mission-specific features, he added.
The first companies to participate include Applied Intuition, Autonodyne, Merlin Labs, Red 6, Shield AI and Soartech.
The Beacon Flight includes a safety pilot where Northrop Grumman can optionally convert control from fully crew, piloted control, or fully autonomous, computer-controlled flights.
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