The first photos of Northrop Grumman’s Model 437 stealth drone have been posted on social media, this advanced air combat UAV can meet the U. S. Navy and air force“Loyal wingman” needs. According to the report, the drone’s main physical features are almost identical to Noszlop’s previously published concept Grumman — except for an extra cockpit in the nose.
Reported that the exposure of the Model 437 drone prototype with a pilot cockpit, “For an advanced unmanned aerial combat aircraft is very strange.”. But it could give Noszlop Grumman a unique advantage in the fierce competition to supply the air force and navy with hundreds or even thousands of highly autonomous drones.
According to reports, these photos were taken in Mojave, California aerospace port. It has a semi-trapezoidal fuselage, mid-swept wings, back air intakes close to the back of the canopy, a unique ridge around the fuselage and a v-shaped tilting tail, and a pitot tube in the nose, this is the normal configuration for initial flight tests. Combined with its small size, it has a very futuristic look, almost like a movie prop. The Model 437 can carry 4,000 pounds of fuel and travel 3,000 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 0.8 Mach, according to aviation week. The UAV’s internal bomb bay can be used to carry up to 1,000 pounds of limited payload, including two AIM-120 advanced intermediate range air-to-air missile or side-view radar imaging sensors.
Why would this advanced drone need a cockpit for its pilots? “Power” website speculation, may be first used to speed up the prototype flight test process. Currently, the United States has many restrictions on where and how uavs can be operated. The pilot-controlled mode, however, eliminates the restrictions, meaning the drone can fly anywhere it needs to for test courses or training. “It is not constrained by typical UAV airspace restrictions. The ability to enter a predetermined airspace with a human pilot and conduct subsequent flight tests is a huge advantage,” the report explained, for many flight test courses, autonomous flight is safer when the pilot is ready to take over and act as a safety backup. The U.S. Air Force, for example, converted a decommissioned F-16 fighter into an X-62 drone to test autonomous flight control systems, “With great success.”. The report therefore speculates that if the Model 437 UAV is a dedicated manned Model developed for test flights, then there is probably still an unmanned version without a cockpit, the original cockpit position may be replaced by an airtight fairing with satellite communications, avionics and additional sensors. With the fast-approaching future of highly autonomous tactical jets, this could give Noszlop Grumman a unique advantage.
It is also not ruled out that future Noszlop Grumman will offer an optional piloted Model based on the Model 437. The company is competing with the U.S. Navy and Air Force for drone programs, and the Pentagon has procured thousands of drones, so large-scale production can drive down manufacturing costs. “A relatively cheap, subsonic, light tactical jet with low detectability, excellent range and near-total versatility for unmanned aircraft could be of interest to buyers in the export market.”