Northrop Grumman has unveiled Project Talon, an autonomous combat drone designed to address affordability and manufacturing speed challenges that limited the company’s success in the Air Force’s first Collaborative Combat Aircraft competition. Developed jointly with Scaled Composites in just 15 months, Project Talon achieves a 1,000-pound weight reduction and 50 percent fewer parts through composite construction, enabling 30 percent faster manufacturing. The design demonstrates Northrop’s commitment to producing affordable, rapidly deployable uncrewed systems for military operations.