Battle-Tested Tech for Aerospace and Defense Operations

According to a recent study by Deloitte, the aerospace and defense industry stands at a pivotal crossroads as it enters the latter half of the decade. Forces that have shaped the sector in recent years—digital transformation, supply chain volatility, talent constraints, and geopolitical events—are converging with new catalysts such as agentic AI, emerging vehicles, and the rapid evolution of autonomous systems. On the defense side, budgets are a key focus, with a growing emphasis on enhancing mission readiness. At the same time, defense priorities are shifting to accelerate the fielding of AI-enabled systems and collaborative combat aircraft. “Speed to field” is becoming the unifying metric across portfolios. (deloitte.com)

Northrop Grumman Expands Autonomous Portfolio

Northrop Grumman unveiled Project Talon (pictured above), an autonomous aircraft built to fly alongside crewed fighters. As the latest addition to the company’s elite autonomous portfolio, Project Talon represents a paradigm shift in air dominance as an adaptive, collaborative teammate for combat missions. 

Project Talon combines greater mission versatility with the most advanced modular manufacturing techniques. This disruptive approach shortens timelines, emphasizing speed and simplicity.

Project Talon advances collaboration between crewed and uncrewed aircraft, acting as a force multiplier to enhance lethality, adaptability, and mission effectiveness.

Project Talon expands previous boundaries of collaborative aircraft technology to give U.S. and international customers the ability to project power in dynamic threat environments. 

Northrop Grumman has more than 500,000 autonomous flight test hours across seven decades of experience in autonomy. Along with the release of Beacon earlier this year, Northrop Grumman continues to demonstrate it is advancing autonomy with speed and decisive action. 

Project Talon was designed, built and on track to fly in under 24 months.

The Northrop Grumman autonomous testbed ecosystem, Beacon, accelerated Project Talon, testing its avionics software in real-world environments.

Project Talon builds on Northrop Grumman’s seven decades of advanced, battle-tested autonomous systems across every domain. It represents a paradigm shift in air dominance and showcases the company’s ability to quickly deliver mission-ready autonomy with streamlined manufacturing capabilities and innovative production processes. Its modular design exemplifies how efficient and adaptable manufacturing can meet the rapidly changing requirements of modern military operations, broadening appeal and effectiveness with domestic and international markets.

Additionally, Northrop Grumman successfully tested the first of two new solid rocket motors — SMASH!22 and BAMM!29 2.0 — designed and manufactured in 2025 under the SMART Demo program. This milestone marks a key achievement in the project’s most ambitious year by delivering both motors in under 12 months.

The static test fire of SMASH!22, the 22-inch diameter Solid Motor Adaptable, Scalable, Half Time/Cost solid rocket motor configuration, evaluated several innovative incorporations such as advanced manufacturing and new materials that could speed development and production, boost performance and lower costs.

The test generated a comprehensive suite of data that will further the team’s understanding of the technologies demonstrated.

The second motor, the 29-inch diameter Bombardment Attack Missile Motor called BAMM!29 2.0, is slated for static testing in early 2026, continuing the momentum of the SMART Demo initiative.

The SMART Demo program is designed to tailor solid rocket motor designs to meet specific industry needs. Northrop Grumman developed both the SMASH and BAMM motors leveraging knowledge from previous projects while integrating advanced tooling, additively manufactured components, and a diversified supplier base. 

Recently, the Integrated Battle Command System, built by Northrop Grumman Corporation for the U.S. Army, completed a pivotal flight test at White Sands Missile Range. This test was part of Follow-on Operational Test & Evaluation (FOT&E) to assess IBCS operational effectiveness in a tactical environment. During the test, Army Air Defenders used IBCS in a complex environment that mimicked real-world operations, identifying and engaging targets via multiple interceptors. The flight test intercept of two surrogate cruise missile targets demonstrated IBCS’s capability to defeat realistic threats in operational environments and highlighted its ability to enhance joint missions, as it integrated with U.S. Navy participants.

Under FOT&E, IBCS is being assessed for its ability to defeat new threats and meet operational needs. The results of the FOT&E and this operational flight test will inform future IBCS development and fielding to the Army. IBCS's modular open systems design enables IBCS to evolve and adapt to changing requirements and threats.
Northrop Grumman is manufacturing IBCS under a full-rate production contract in a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing center in Madison, Alabama. The new facility has the capability to double the company’s manufacturing capacity in Huntsville and scale IBCS to meet growing demand for integrated fires, command and control in the U.S. and globally.

Jeremy Knupp, vice president, global command and control solutions, Northrop Grumman: “IBCS continues to showcase exceptional performance as seen during this soldier-run FOT&E flight test. By defeating complex threats, IBCS proved its flexibility to integrate new technologies and unify systems regardless of source, service or domain.”

IBCS is a revolutionary system fire control quality and battle management, unifying current and future systems regardless of source, service or domain. IBCS fuses sensor data for a single, actionable picture of the full battlespace. Through its network enabled, modular, open and scalable architecture, IBCS can evolve and adapt to meet the changing battlespace. This proven capability gives warfighters more time to assess and respond to threats, serving as a foundational element for enabling joint and coalition, multi-domain operations IBCS is in production and will be fielded as part of the U.S. Army’s program of record for integrated air and missile defense modernization. Northrop Grumman was awarded a five-year contract valued at more than $1 billion from the U.S. Army for low-rate initial production and full-rate production of IBCS in December 2021.

(northropgrumman.com)

Laser-Based Data Communication 

Lithuanian space and defense tech company Astrolight has successfully demonstrated undetectable and unjammable laser-based communication and data transmission with its Polaris terminal during NATO’s latest exercise. It was held in Latvia, on NATO’s Eastern flank, highlighting how the latest technologies can enhance battlefield capabilities in the region.

The exercise, called Digital Backbone Experimentation (DiBaX), took place last fall at a Latvian Ādaži military base and virtually across the Alliance.

Astrolight placed two Polaris laser terminals on land, operating continuously throughout all 9 days of the exercise, including in rain and fog. During the tests, Polaris successfully demonstrated interoperability with military communication infrastructure, connecting a military base to an ad-hoc remote command post.

“As GPS-jamming and interference cases are rising in NATO territories, military communication is becoming a full-scale battlefield. DiBaX demonstrated that our technology can provide the speed, volume, and security of data transmission needed for modern tactical operations on land, which traditional communication methods struggle to support,” said Laurynas Mačiulis, the CEO of Astrolight.

Currently, many military operations rely on radio frequencies (RF) for communication. However, radio has key limitations, such as low data transmission speeds and being susceptible to jamming. RF emissions can also be easily detected, revealing the position of military units.

The Baltic region is experiencing near-daily electronic warfare pressure, with GPS and RF jamming originating from Russia and the Kaliningrad region intensifying in recent months. 

While the Eastern flank is among the most affected areas, these incidents are no longer isolated – similar jamming events have been reported across Europe, the Middle East, and other global hotspots, underscoring the growing need for communication systems that remain operational in contested, RF-denied environments.

In contrast, laser communications tested by Astrolight cannot be jammed using conventional electronic warfare equipment, and can transmit data at up to 100 times faster data rates than RF. 

“We’ve also showcased that laser communications can deliver consistent and reliable data transmission despite harsh weather conditions: fog, rain, and wind,” Mačiulis said. “To meet demanding NATO requirements, we made Polaris compact, as well as easy to install and deploy across military units and vehicles in sea, land, air, and space operations.” 

Astrolight successfully tested Polaris for ship-to-ship communications at the REPMUS/Dynamic Messenger exercise, led by the Portuguese Navy and NATO, respectively, and with the Lithuanian Navy.

DiBaX was led by NATO Allied Command Transformation and the Latvian Ministry of Defense, hosted by Latvian Mobile Telephone. The exercise focused on the use of unmanned systems in complex operational environments and applications of artificial intelligence.

In recent months, Latvia and other European NATO members, including Lithuania, Poland, and Belgium, have been monitoring and responding to a series of drone incursions coming from Russia, raising concerns about security in the region. (astrolightspace.com)

Manufacturing Partnership for Automated Machining and Inspection Technology

Lockheed Martin and Hadrian have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to accelerate the pace and value of advanced American manufacturing at Lockheed Martin, building a more resilient and scalable industrial base. 

Under this agreement, Hadrian will deploy its factory-as-a-service model, which includes embedding a scalable machining manufacturing and inspection cell, to produce parts at a Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control site. This flexible production cell is comprised of computer numerical control (CNC) machines, advanced robotics and Hadrian’s manufacturing execution platform, which will enable Lockheed Martin and Hadrian to increase rate for a variety of machined parts quickly and efficiently for products like PAC-3 MSE®, THAAD, PrSM and GMLRS. 

"We are excited to collaborate with Hadrian to deploy their automated machining and inspection technology to strengthen our manufacturing capabilities and supply chain," said Tom Carrubba, vice president, production operations at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “This project is a key enabler for Lockheed Martin to increase production output capacity, ensuring we can meet the high demand for our customers’ munitions needs.” 

“This partnership is a model for how emerging and established players can work together to build faster, more resilient defense production,” said Chris Power, CEO of Hadrian. “By combining Hadrian’s advanced manufacturing capabilities with Lockheed Martin’s expertise, we’re streamlining production for current and future critical programs and laying the groundwork for more collaborations like this across the industry.” 

By uniting advanced manufacturing with proven defense capabilities, this partnership aims to create a more resilient and responsive production ecosystem, one that becomes more capable as demands grow and challenges emerge. (hadrian.co) (lockheedmartin.com)

Tom Carrubba (right), vice president of production operations at Lockheed Martin, and Chris Power (left), chief executive officer of Hadrian, agree to a Memorandum of Understanding at Hadrian’s headquarters in Los Angeles.