Talon IQ Flight with Shield AI’s Hivemind Software

May 1, 2026

Northrop Grumman
Mojave, CA
www.northropgrumman.com

Northrop Grumman’s Talon IQ™ testbed completed its first partner mission autonomy flight with Shield AI’s Hivemind software, showcasing a ready to fly platform that accelerates innovation, cuts development costs and eliminates the need to build a dedicated airframe for every new autonomy solution.

“Autonomy only scales if it can move quickly from lab to flight,” said Christian Gutierrez, Vice President of Hivemind Solutions at Shield AI. “Talon IQ provides a strong environment for maturing mission autonomy, and this integration shows how Hivemind can transition onto new aircraft with minimal modification, accelerating the path to operational capability. “

Talon IQ™ is the next generation autonomous testbed ecosystem in Northrop Grumman’s Project Talon portfolio. Utilizing the Scaled Composites Model 437 aircraft, it provides an open architecture, modular ecosystem that lets partners develop, integrate and flight test mission autonomy software on proven flight autonomy hardware.

Northrop Grumman’s own Prism mission autonomy software has already commanded the same Model 437 airframe, establishing Talon IQ as a flight proven platform. The system is deliberately designed as a collaborative ecosystem that accelerates modular mission autonomy solutions and enables rapid iteration

Hivemind is Shield AI’s platform-agnostic, GRA-compliant mission autonomy software that assumes the role of a human pilot or operator, enabling unmanned systems to sense, decide, and act. Unlike traditional autopilots that simply follow preplanned routes, Hivemind can reroute around or engage dynamic obstacles, execute collaborative tactics with peer systems and piloted aircraft, respond to unexpected conditions, and complete missions safely and effectively as part of a human-machine team.

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