The brief

Analyst view

• Largest aircraft by span (117 m) air-launches hypersonic vehicles, saving fuel vs. ground rockets.
• Talon-A lands on runway for reuse, proving full-vehicle reusability at Mach 5+.
• Elliott Investment Management co-invested with Cerberus in January 2026 for production expansion.

Technical approach

As reported

Carrier aircraft

Modified Boeing 747-400

Boeing 747-400 (Spirit of Mojave) releases hypersonic vehicles at altitude, avoiding fuel costs of rocket vertical climb.

Talon-A design

Fully autonomous reusable vehicle

8.5 m vehicle with liquid-rocket engine flies autonomously to Mach 5–7 then lands on runway, eliminating parachute and recovery costs.

Flight profile

Data collection at speed

Each flight carries classified payloads through hypersonic regime, returning them for analysis without ablation or sea-salt corrosion.