Beacon would assist third-partners ‘rapidly mature their mission autonomy software program in an built-in, operationally related atmosphere.’
Scaled Composites has introduced the subsequent stage of the partnership with its father or mother firm Northrop Grumman for the Mannequin 437 Vanguard plane as a part of the latter’s “Beacon autonomous testbed ecosystem” program. Beacon will leverage the Mannequin 437 as an airborne take a look at platform.
Scaled Composites’ Mannequin 437 Vanguard flew for the primary time on Aug. 29, 2024 from the corporate’s facility at Mojave Air and House Port, California. The event adopted Northrop Grumman’s ‘Digital Pathfinder’ “ecosystem,” which noticed the corporate creating and constructing the wings of Mannequin 437 with a ‘digital engineering’ method, resulting in its speedy improvement from an idea platform to a demonstrable plane.
Northrop Grumman describes Beacon as a “next-generation testbed ecosystem” that permits third social gathering autonomous flight software program builders and aerospace firms “ship new autonomous mission capabilities” in an “built-in atmosphere that mimics related mission situations.” The photographs launched by each the businesses additionally confirmed the Mannequin 437’s tail with a brand new ‘Beacon’ paint scheme.
We’ve unveiled Beacon: an autonomous testbed ecosystem that may paved the way towards leading edge mission autonomy capabilities. Study extra: pic.twitter.com/qxkMuOpLhA
— Northrop Grumman (@NGCNews) June 18, 2025
“Following the Digital Pathfinder demonstration in 2024, Scaled transitioned to important plane modifications to help Beacon integration on the Mannequin 437,” the corporate stated in its newest launch. Northrop has publicized the pioneering design and engineering approach for its B-21 Raider strategic stealth bomber, additionally billed because the world’s first sixth-generation bomber, which includes making a “digital twin/reproduction”. This aids precise visualization of technical adjustments, tweaks, upgrades and their efficiency, saving improvement time, eliminating complexities and future life-cycle prices.
‘Digital engineering’ in plane design
The clean-sheet Mannequin 437 transitioned from an in depth design to its first flight inside simply “21 months” as part of the “Digital Pathfinder demonstration in 2024.” Northrop says it labored “on the design and manufacturing of the wings, whereas Scaled Composites centered on the speedy design, fabrication and take a look at of an plane platform to exhibit the wings.”
The method ensured “lower than 1 % of the wing design” requiring rework, “in comparison with the {industry} common of 15 to twenty %.” Moreover, the press launch added “the undertaking additionally skilled lower than a 2 % delay in its schedule,” demonstrating how a “digital ecosystem can enhance timelines whereas lowering errors.”

“A key development is determinate meeting, which ensures components arrive completely aligned and prepared for meeting, reducing down on expensive errors,” says Northrop Grumman. “Exact digitally based mostly tooling designs save time by optimizing the device and manufacturing operations earlier than ever drilling the primary gap.”
The corporate explains that “this know-how permits for extra artistic designs,” together with “advanced shapes and supplies that conventional strategies can’t deal with.”
Beacon autonomy initiative
Scaled Composites’ president Greg Morris stated “modifying the Mannequin 437 on such a brief timeline” for the Beacon autonomy initiative “displays Scaled’s skill to design, construct, take a look at – and on this case modify – on the tempo of innovation.” He additional added “this pace and agility is why we’re an excellent accomplice to flight take a look at industry-leading autonomy options, enabling capabilities improvement at an unmatched tempo.”
Earlier than its first flight on Aug. 29, 2024, when it was seen with a regular cockpit and Scaled Composites’ Brian Maisler on the controls, the Mannequin 437 was depicted in official renderings as an unmanned plane. The corporate stated on the time the conceptual design was “based mostly on the Mannequin 401,” and meant as a “multi-mission low-cost attritable” platform.
With the optionally manned function in Mannequin 437, the Beacon autonomous take a look at mattress ecosystem would assist third-partners “rapidly mature their mission autonomy software program in an built-in, operationally related atmosphere,” and “refine their options by way of an open-access method aligned to authorities necessities.” Northrop says it has “strategically teamed up” with “a number of new entrants and corporations” within the autonomous flight phase.
Northrop’s company vp for Aeronautics Methods Tom Jones referred to as Beacon a “sixth technology autonomous software program improvement” that will help to “considerably scale back the time and value it takes to deliver new autonomous mission capabilities to our clients.” He additional added “the demand for brand spanking new autonomous functionality has grown exponentially.”
Yesterday’s first flight of Mannequin 437 Vanguard was Take a look at Pilot Brian Maisler’s first time conducting the primary flight of a brand new plane kind!
Study extra at #FlightTest #TestPilot #M437Vanguard #pilot #flying pic.twitter.com/yLQOdSVScT
— Scaled Composites (@ScaledC) August 30, 2024
As “an open-access autonomous testbed ecosystem aligned to authorities reference architectures,” Beacon will “speed up” software program deployment. Companions “can take a look at and refine their options” with Beacon, and a sequence of flight demonstrations are already deliberate for 2025. The emphasis on authorities reference architectures for autonomous Unmanned Fight Aerial Automobiles (UCAV) can also be seen within the testing of GA-ASI’s MQ-20 Avenger, which has been flying with Protect AI’s Hivemind autonomy software program.
Scaled is worked up to share that this morning we carried out the primary flight of the Mannequin 437 Vanguard, demonstrating @northropgrumman‘s Digital Pathfinder wings with take a look at pilot Brian Maisler in command. Study extra at #FlightTest #M437Vanguard pic.twitter.com/0w4HkJtN9c
— Scaled Composites (@ScaledC) August 29, 2024
Future
In response to Scaled Composites, the Mannequin 437 Vanguard is powered by a single Pratt & Whitney 535 engine with roughly 3,400 kilos of thrust. The plane has a wingspan of 41 toes and is 41 toes lengthy, with a gross takeoff weight of 10,000 kilos.
It’s anticipated the Mannequin 437 can have a spread of roughly 3,000 nautical miles and an endurance of 6 hours, following envelope growth. Additionally, the plane can carry as much as 2,000 kilos of payload in a number of areas, together with an inner weapons bay in a position to accommodate two AIM-120s.
The Mannequin 401 Sierra, from which the Mannequin 437 Vanguard was derived from, was noticed in Oct. 2022 with a ventral payload which might presumably be a directed vitality weapon (DEW), going by the design and the paintings on the system. Northrop Grumman, which was not chosen for the Increment 1 of the Collaborative Fight Plane (CCA) procurement that went to Normal Atomics’ YFQ-42A and Anduril’s YFQ-44A, is more likely to compete for the Increment 2 stage.
I’ve seen two variations of the 437 render, one wanting much more like an unmanned Mannequin 401, and the one on the suitable which appears to be the extra finalized design
Nonetheless very harking back to the 401 w/ the lamda wings and ruddervators, however a lot much less dihedral on the wings pic.twitter.com/Fo41CfySM0
— TaskForce23 (@Task_Force23) August 9, 2024
The B-21 Raider has been envisaged to command CCAs, and whether or not the present effort means that Northrop would pitch its personal sequence of collaborative drones for the stealth bomber stays to be seen. Nonetheless, given the USAF’s want for commonality of components and a base design throughout its CCA variants for low-cost logistics and maintainability, the DoD is unlikely to amass a separate line of unmanned plane only for the stealth bomber.