SandboxAQ and Northrop Grumman Flight-Test AQNav Quantum Navigation on Attritable Drone

AI and quantum technology enterprise SandboxAQ has completed a successful flight-test campaign of its AQNav magnetic navigation (MagNav) system integrated onto Northrop Grumman’s (NYSE: NOC) Lumberjack®—a Group 3, one-way-attack attritable Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). The demonstration marks the first reported operational flight-test of a MagNav payload deployed on an expendable, attritable drone platform, as well as the first reported pairing of magnetic anomaly navigation with visual navigation sensors on a one-way attack system.

The flight-test validated SandboxAQ’s new hardware-agnostic, software-first AQNav platform architecture. Designed to process raw sensor telemetry using Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) and physics-based geomagnetic anomaly maps, the software filters out electromagnetic interference (EMI) generated by onboard motors and electronics in real time. Deployed directly onto the drone's existing onboard compute infrastructure without requiring specialized external processing units, engineers completed system installation and software integration in under one hour, establishing real-time alternative positioning, navigation, and timing (Alt-PNT) in GPS-denied environments.

The initiative builds on SandboxAQ’s participation in the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU) Transition of Quantum Sensing (TQS) program and NATO’s DIANA cohort, which evaluate quantum magnetometry and MagNav payloads for unjammable military autonomy. With over 450 flight-test hours accumulated across heavy military transports (C-17 Globemaster III, C-130J Super Hercules) and commercial airframes, the addition of attritable Group 3 UAS platforms expands AQNav’s dual-use deployment options toward low-cost, mass-manufacturable defense systems.

Review the official press release via PR Newswire here, access our previous coverage of SandboxAQ's DIU Transition of Quantum Sensing Program Selection here, and examine our analysis of AQNav Flight Test Performance with Airbus Acubed here.

September 9, 2026