Stand-in Attack Weapon separation test conducted from U.S. Air Force F-16
NewsDecember 12, 2025
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Florida. Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Air Force completed a separation test of the Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW) from an F-16 aircraft, the company announced in a statement.
The event evaluated whether the air-to-ground missile can safely release from the aircraft and how it behaves aerodynamically during separation, the statement reads. Data from the test is intended to support flight safety assessments and inform further development activity, the company says.
Northrop Grumman says the separation milestone is part of SiAW’s path toward integration with additional aircraft, including fifth-generation platforms such as the Lockheed Martin F-35, the statement reads. The company characterizes the test as evidence of progress toward broader fielding and system maturity, according to the statement.
SiAW is intended to engage time-sensitive targets and other defended land targets in contested environments, the company says. Northrop Grumman says the weapon is being developed using digital engineering methods and includes open-architecture interfaces intended to enable future subsystem upgrades, the statement adds.
