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Northrop Grumman • MIN READ

DARPA/AFRL and Northrop Grumman start flight testing XRQ-73 SHEPARD hybrid-electric flying-wing drone at Edwards

Northrop Grumman and Scaled Composites launched flight testing of the XRQ-73 SHEPARD hybrid-electric, uncrewed flying-wing prototype at Edwards Air Force Base. DARPA says the April 2026 flights demonstrate series hybrid-electric propulsion aimed at enabling very quiet, high-efficiency performance for next-generation lightweight autonomous systems.

2026-05-06T10:19:38.902409-07:00

CNBC

Anthropic to source additional compute capacity from SpaceX/xAI’s Colossus 1 datacenter

2026-05-06T10:42:22.654104-07:00

techfundingnews.com

LiveEO raises €28M to scale AI Earth observation for civil infrastructure monitoring and plan its own constellation—expanding in

2026-05-06T02:29:46.887284-07:00

Boeing

Alaska Airlines fully adopts Boeing’s Virtual Airplane (VA) pilot training platform under formal license

2026-05-05T09:23:42.532028-07:00

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CNBC

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Anthropic to source additional compute capacity from SpaceX/xAI’s Colossus 1 datacenter Anthropic says it has secured further AI compute by partnering with SpaceX to use the company’s Colossus One data-center facilities, boosting Claude capacity and API throughput. Separate reporting links the arrangement to xAI’s Colossus 1 GPU scale-up, while also positioning it as a way to address recent usage-limit complaints.

2026-05-06T10:42:22.654104-07:00

Anthropic to source additional compute capacity from SpaceX/xAI’s Colossus 1 datacenter

Northrop Grumman

DARPA/AFRL and Northrop Grumman start flight testing XRQ-73 SHEPARD hybrid-electric flying-wing drone at Edwards Northrop Grumman and Scaled Composites launched flight testing of the XRQ-73 SHEPARD hybrid-electric, uncrewed flying-wing prototype at Edwards Air Force Base. DARPA says the April 2026 flights demonstrate series hybrid-electric propulsion aimed at enabling very quiet, high-efficiency performance for next-generation lightweight autonomous systems.

2026-05-06T10:19:38.902409-07:00

DARPA/AFRL and Northrop Grumman start flight testing XRQ-73 SHEPARD hybrid-electric flying-wing drone at Edwards

techfundingnews.com

LiveEO raises €28M to scale AI Earth observation for civil infrastructure monitoring and plan its own constellation—expanding in Berlin geospatial-tech startup LiveEO has closed a first series round of more than €28M, backed by b2ventures, the EIC and Helantic, to expand its AI satellite platform. The funding is earmarked to grow civil infrastructure monitoring offerings and accelerate development for dual-use defense and security customers, alongside plans to launch LiveEO’s own constellation.

2026-05-06T02:29:46.887284-07:00

LiveEO raises €28M to scale AI Earth observation for civil infrastructure monitoring and plan its own constellation—expanding in

SpaceNews.com

Startup develops software to give military users reliable access to commercial GEO imaging As commercial satellite operators proliferate, the bottleneck for military customers is shifting from owning imagery to obtaining it fast, securely, and in usable forms. A new software startup—built around Divergent Space’s GEOx platform—targets that “access layer” for defense users operating on time-critical requirements.

2026-05-05T12:19:30.759714-07:00

Startup develops software to give military users reliable access to commercial GEO imaging

Boeing

Alaska Airlines fully adopts Boeing’s Virtual Airplane (VA) pilot training platform under formal license Boeing says Alaska Airlines has signed a formal licensing agreement for its Virtual Airplane (VA) training platform, marking a move from licensing to full adoption. The announcement was made during the World Aviation Training Summit (WATS) in Orlando, Florida, positioning VA as a tool to enhance pilot readiness via digital simulation.

2026-05-05T09:23:42.532028-07:00

Alaska Airlines fully adopts Boeing’s Virtual Airplane (VA) pilot training platform under formal license

DefenseNews.com

US Air Force seeks nearly $1B for initial procurement of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) The U.S. Air Force is pursuing nearly $1 billion in funding for the initial procurement phase of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), moving the program from prototype efforts toward production. The request signals an acceleration in fielding next-generation air-combat platforms focused on human–machine teaming.

2026-05-05T06:32:59.046002-07:00

US Air Force seeks nearly $1B for initial procurement of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA)

Payload

ESA selects Edge Aerospace to develop orbital data-center architectures and use-case road map The European Space Agency has selected Edge Aerospace under an agreement to develop an orbital data-center architecture and a supporting use-case roadmap. The study is aimed at clarifying how on-orbit compute/data-center concepts could be packaged into credible, deployable services.

2026-05-05T05:51:38.709244-07:00

ESA selects Edge Aerospace to develop orbital data-center architectures and use-case road map

eu-startups.com

WaiV Robotics raises €6.4M ($7.5M) to field fully automatic VTOL drone landing/takeoff platform for maritime operations British maritime autonomy startup WaiV Robotics has emerged from stealth with a €6.4 million ($7.5 million) seed round and unveiled what it calls the first fully automatic at-sea VTOL landing and takeoff platform, designed for reliable operations in high sea states.

2026-05-05T05:40:04.052467-07:00

WaiV Robotics raises €6.4M ($7.5M) to field fully automatic VTOL drone landing/takeoff platform for maritime operations

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AI News

DARPA/AFRL and Northrop Grumman start flight testing XRQ-73 SHEPARD hybrid-electric flying-wing drone at Edwards

Anthropic to source additional compute capacity from SpaceX/xAI’s Colossus 1 datacenter

LiveEO raises €28M to scale AI Earth observation for civil infrastructure monitoring and plan its own constellation—expanding in

Alaska Airlines fully adopts Boeing’s Virtual Airplane (VA) pilot training platform under formal license

News Timeline