DARPA Grants X-Plane Designation as XRQ-73

Northrop Grumman has announced the design and construction of the SHEPARD UAS in the works with Scaled Composites for DARPA's X-Prime program.

Like any DARPA project worth its salt, they got a nice acronym out of the original project, contracting "Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration" to the catchier 'SHEPARD'. But that's not all, since the uncrewed aircraft system got the blessing of DARPA to receive an official X-plane designation as the XRQ-73. That cements the program a small place in the annals of aviation history, right next to record breaking futuristic aircraft and aborted 'what if's alike. The SHEPARD aims to 'leverage a hybrid electric architecture and component technologies to quickly mature a new mission-focused aircraft design with propulsion architecture and power class as an exemplar of potential benefits for the Department of Defense' according to official press.

What that means in real terms, is that the SHEPARD will bear out the real-world utility of a hybrid-powered flying wing UAV, offering low observability in a Group 3 UAS tipping the scales at 1,250 pounds. Thanks to its use of current architecture and components, DARPA won't have to wait long for the first XRQ-73 flight, expected to take place later this year. It's not the first time something's tried to bake a UAV cake to the SHEPARD's aim, though. The program itself is an existing option to the Air Force Research Laboratory's 'Great Horned Owl' contract. The aircraft developed under that banner were a little smaller, but shared purpose in being a readily developed UAS to meet current needs. The XRQ merely grows a bit over the older Owl designs, adding payload and fuel right up to the Group 3 weight limit.

FMI: www.darpa.mil