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News archive: Scaled Composites LLC

Every Bulletin story and press release covering Scaled Composites LLC, newest first.

Whole archive

7 items

14 May DARPA’s XRQ-73 SHEPARD hybrid-electric experimental aircraft takes off at Edwards Air Force Base.

DARPA hybrid-electric UAV takes off from Edwards

The remotely piloted SHEPARD demonstrator completed its April flight at Edwards Air Force Base as propulsion research continued.

6 May

DARPA and Northrop Grumman fly XRQ-73 hybrid-electric demonstrator

Hybrid-electric flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base has advanced efforts to develop lower-emission military aircraft with greater operational flexibility.

7 August 2025 Beacon brings together flight-proven software and hardware with partner technologies to test autonomous systems in real-world mission scenarios.

Six partners aboard for Beacon autonomy testbed trials

Flight trials on the Scaled Composites Model 437 aircraft and Northrop Grumman hardware will begin this year using autonomy software from partners including Applied Intuition and Shield AI.

31 July 2025 Red 6 is providing augmented reality training tools to simulate high-threat mission environments on the Beacon platform.

Merlin and Red 6 join forces with Northrop Grumman on Beacon

Two companies will support autonomy testing on the Vanguard using software and augmented reality tools in Mojave, California.

26 June 2024 The Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration program, known as SHEPARD, sees its hybrid-electric uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) receive its official X-plane designation, XRQ-73.

DARPA dubs its newest X-plane XRQ-73

The XRQ-73 aircraft will be a Group 3 UAS weighing approximately 1,250 pounds, which draws on the earlier AFRL/IARPA Great Horned Owl (GHO) project. First flight is expected by year-end 2024.

24 August 2023 Jet Zero has selected Pratt & Whitney GTF engines to power the demonstrator.

Air Force investment boosts development of BWB project

JetZero is collaborating with Northrop Grumman and Scaled Composites to build and test a full-scale demonstrator of its blended wing body aircraft design, scheduled to fly by 2027.

12 August 2021 The all-electric X-57 has successfully completed high-voltage ground testing.

All-electric Maxwell powers past a testing milestone

One NASA goal is to establish the X-57 as a reference platform for integrated approaches of distributed electric propulsion technologies. Next up, the X-57 will undergo verification and validation testing.