Company Toots Their Own Horn After Successful Test

Northrop Grumman announced that their Model 437, or “Vanguard,” completed its first flight on August 29 out of their plant in Palmdale, California. The company took this opportunity to show off its ‘digital ecosystem’ capabilities put to work.

Model 437 is a technology demonstrator flown by the company's subsidiary, Scaled Composites. Its concept was first launched three years ago as a solution to the U.S. Air Force’s “Loyal Wingman” program, which was later renamed Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), and as a possible U.K. F-35 escort. The company’s flight announcement, however, made no mention of the CCA or the aircraft’s future role in the project.

The aircraft was based on Scaled Composites' earlier design, the Model 401 Sierra. It is a “crewed variant of the original concept,” Northrop clarified, and is “powered by a single Pratt & Whitney 535 engine with approximately 3,400 pounds of thrust.” Its payload maxes out at 2,000 pounds with two AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs), carrying speeds up to Mach 0.85.

Questions have been raised as to why Northrop chose to fly Model 437 crewed. The company omitted the explanation, but it is possible that the pilot was a hands-off supervisor to only be used during flight tests.

The recent project “demonstrated how the company’s fully digital engineering ecosystem reduces engineering rework, accelerates schedule and reduces costs,” Northrop stated. Their digital ecosystem works to fully connect the company with its customers and suppliers to streamline connections during new programs, offering time and cost efficiency.

Scaled later released a statement of their own on the Model 437, commenting that it “leveraged extensive experience in rapid design, fabrication, and test of experimental aircraft” in an overall “uneventful” first flight.

FMI: www.northropgrumman.com, www.scaled.com