You don’t hear “ahead of schedule” very often in the defense world, but Aeon seems to be making a habit of it.
On Monday, in an exclusive release to Tectonic, Aeon announced it completed a successful flight test of its Zeus missile launched from a Moog ($MOG.A) integrated turret platform last week. That’s just three weeks after the Texas-based startup kicked off its partnership with the legacy defense company.
Not a bad way to ring in the new year.
Big booms: We’ve covered Aeon and their flagship Zeus smart missile before. The missile is almost completely vertically integrated—the startup designed and developed their propellant, solid rocket motors (SRMs), igniters, ODIN threat identification and targeting software, and major subsystems in-house.
- Aeon says Zeus is compatible with a range of operational platforms, from vehicle-mounted configurations to ATAK, and offers automatic threat identification, persistent tracking, and minimal-smoke “modern propellant.”
- That tech has caught the Army’s eye. Aeon snagged a contract with the Army Applications Lab (AAL) to develop a payload and electronic safe-and-arm device (ESAD) for Zeus last April, and a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the US Army DEVCOM Aviation & Missile Center (AvMC) last summer.
- Aeon’s ascent has been helped by some pretty heavy-hitting friends in the defense tech scene. Last year, they teamed up with SRM startup X-Bow Systems, Group 3 drone-maker Delta Black, AI company webAI, and, last but not least, Moog.
(Ae)On fire: Aeon’s kept the pedal to the metal with their testing tempo.
They held a successful live-fire test of Zeus for the Army Transformation and Training Command (T2COM) and AAL last November, but this latest test with Moog was carried out internally with help from AvMC.
- Zeus was integrated onto a Moog turret mounted on an unmanned ground vehicle testing platform and hit its target on the first attempt.
- Aeon and Moog had initially expected to carry out the flight test later this month, but, like their test with T2COM and AAL last year, they kicked off testing before the ball dropped.
- Aeon’s speedy integration with Moog’s turret system is a good sign—Moog’s systems are pretty popular with the military, and their compatibility with the prime’s platforms could open some big doors for the startup.
Needless to say, Aeon CEO Naweed Tahmas is feeling pretty good about it. “Aeon went from napkin drawing to guided flight in under nine months,” he told Tectonic. “This is part of our campaign to integrate onto many different platforms, showing Zeus’ versatility and ability to plug-and-play from existing weapon stations and turrets.”
The startup has big plans for 2026. Tahmas said that Aeon and Moog have more demos at Army installations—and partnerships—coming up, including UGV testing in Ukraine next month.
Sounds like Aeon has the same New Year’s resolution as last year: move faster.