The company describes Project Talon as an uncrewed wingman platform developed to contribute to air dominance by working in concert with manned aircraft rather than replacing them.
Northrop Grumman states that Project Talon combines broad mission versatility with modular manufacturing techniques that shorten development and production timelines by emphasizing speed and simplicity.
The aircraft is intended to act as a force multiplier for both crewed and uncrewed systems, with mission roles that include increasing lethality, improving adaptability in changing tactical conditions and supporting overall mission effectiveness.
According to the company, Project Talon expands previous boundaries of collaborative aircraft technology to give U.S. and international customers additional options for projecting power in dynamic threat environments.
Northrop Grumman reports having more than 500,000 autonomous flight test hours over seven decades of work in autonomy, experience it cites as a foundation for Project Talon and other programs.
The company notes that the Beacon autonomous testbed ecosystem, introduced earlier in 2025, has been used to accelerate Project Talon by testing its avionics software in real-world environments.
Project Talon was designed, built and brought to the threshold of flight in under 24 months, a schedule Northrop Grumman links to its modular manufacturing approach and use of the Beacon test infrastructure.
Northrop Grumman adds that Project Talon builds on a family of advanced autonomous systems deployed across multiple domains, with the new aircraft intended to inform future concepts for collaborative combat aircraft.
Related Links
Northrop Grumman
UAV News - Suppliers and Technology
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
