PRESS RELEASE
Issued by: Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems
Northrop Grumman Corporation has announced the design and construction of the Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration (SHEPARD) vehicle. The uncrewed air system developed for DARPA recently received its official X-plane designation of XRQ-73.
Built in collaboration with Scaled Composites, a Northrop Grumman subsidiary, the XRQ-73 SHEPARD is a DARPA "X-prime" program leveraging hybrid electric architecture and component technologies to quickly mature a new mission-focused aircraft design with propulsion architecture and power class for the Department of Defense.
| Contact details from our directory: | |
| Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems | Airframer |
| DARPA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency | Airframer, Research/Consulting Services, Technical/Eng/Scientific Studies |
| Scaled Composites LLC | Flight Testing, Tooling, Design Services, Prototyping, Research/Consulting Services, Final Assembly, Simulation Services |
| Related aircraft programs: |
| Northrop Grumman SHEPARD X-Plane |
Weekly news by email:
See the latest Bulletin, and sign up free‑of‑charge for future editions.
Textron adds avionics and ignition upgrades across Cessna piston range
Elysian pushes electric E9X towards detailed design
Regent Seaglider autonomous drone completes first near-water test flight