LOS ANGELES – November 12, 2026 -- Hermeus and Northrop Grumman have signed a strategic teaming agreement under which Northrop will design, develop, integrate and sustain mission systems for Hermeus' reusable, unmanned high-Mach aircraft for the U.S. military.
The scope covers sensing, communications, navigation, and command and control, so Northrop's role runs from initial design through sustainment. The work builds on Hermeus' in-house mission management system (MMS) core, which the company describes as an open, modular system that keeps flight-critical and mission-critical functions separated.
Hermeus says the MMS core follows the U.S. Government's AMS-GRA and A-GRA reference architectures and the OMS/UCI standards. The company says this lets the two partners integrate and update mission capabilities in weeks rather than years as requirements change. That is a company claim; no test data or program example accompanies it.
Hermeus CEO Zach Shore said the aircraft are meant to give the military more speed, range and flexibility while fitting into the existing force. He said Northrop's mission systems experience will help Hermeus field operational capability faster. Hermeus says it works with the Department of War.
The companies said they aim to pursue advanced development programs that need both new airframes and proven mission systems. They did not disclose a contract value, a target program or a customer commitment.