The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has assigned the designation XRQ-73 to its Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration, or SHEPARD, hybrid electric uncrewed aircraft system.
Northrop Grumman and its Scaled Composites subsidiary are developing the XRQ-73 plane in collaboration with Cornerstone Research Group, Brayton Energy, PC Krause and Associates and EaglePicher Technologies, DARPA said Monday.
“The idea behind a DARPA X-prime program is to take emerging technologies and burn down system-level integration risks to quickly mature a new missionized long endurance aircraft design that can be fielded quickly,” said Steve Komadina, SHEPARD program manager.
“The SHEPARD program is maturing a specific propulsion architecture and power class as an exemplar of potential benefits for the Department of Defense,” Komadina said.
XRQ-73, weighing approximately 1,250 pounds, is expected to take its first flight by the end of 2024 in the Group 3 UAS category.