]Northrop Grumman for the first time showed a photo of its new XRQ-73 unmanned aerial vehicle, which was created within the framework of the program called Shepard under the auspices of U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The name itself, as per tradition in the United States, is an acronym and means Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion Aircraft.
The appearance of this photo caused a huge wave of buzz in the Western military media. To some extent, this is due to the fact the first actual photo is being published, because only computer renderings were released before. Nonetheless, Western articles were quite generous with laudatory epithets in general. Although, at first glance, there is nothing new to look at, seeing the original photo:
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However, despite the XRQ-73 appearing to be just another stealth drone built according to the flying wing configuration, albeit with rather large air intakes, it is in fact truly revolutionary. Though this time, the novelty is not hidden in its elaborate electronics or artificial intelligence.
All the revolutionary nature of the drone is in the engines. It is equipped with ducted fan propellers, and the engine is a hybrid of a small, quiet and highly efficient internal combustion engine and a battery. The additional air intakes on the nose are exactly the air inlet of this engine.
Previously, it was more noticeable, as the first concepts had shown the propeller fans located on top of the body.
But now these propellers are hidden within the body, which will definitely reduce the visibility of the drone in the radar spectrum. In addition, in the battery operation mode, the hybrid power plant will be less noticeable in the thermal and acoustic range as well. That is, the inconspicuousness of the XRQ-73 is at a completely new level.
In terms of dimensions, the XRQ-73 is quite a large drone with a take-off weight of about 570 kg. According to the initial concepts, the drone was designed to have a wingspan of about 10 meters (~30 feet).
Notably, the XRQ-73 has the RQ in its index which means its primary purpose is reconnaissance. The sensor systems are apparently installed in the protrusion under the fuselage. That is to say, now, that Northrop Grumman has already refined the new design, creating a similar drone with the letters MQ in the name, i.e. a combat drone, should no longer be difficult.
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