Northrop Grumman has finally revealed its secret Beacon project in its entirety — not in a hangar or on diagrams, but directly outdoors. This is the first full-fledged look at what their flying "artificial intelligence laboratory" looks like.
The Beacon is not just a drone. This is part of a large ecosystem of tests created in order to accelerate the development of autonomous aircraft — those that can fly without a pilot or with him at will (these are called *optionally manned*).
The Model 437 Vanguard aircraft from Scaled Composites was used as a basis, a twin—engine machine that is already technologically advanced in itself. But Northrop has seriously redesigned it: they have implemented their own electronics, control systems, and, most importantly, artificial intelligence—based software that teaches the machine to make decisions in flight itself: maneuver, respond to threats, and set a route.
Imagine: a plane is flying, sees another car on the course, and decides for himself how to dodge. Or he gets a new task and rebuilds the mission on the go. This is exactly what is being tested on Beacon.
Now that the platform is shown from the outside, it becomes clear how close it is to real tests in the air. This is not a mock—up, but a working device that should pave the way for the future of aviation, where AI will not be an assistant, but a full-fledged "pilot".
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