Test plane: No pilot required
Scaled Composites product could inspire future systems
PALMDALE — Scaled Composites has added another optionally piloted aircraft to its portfolio, one that may be flown with or without a pilot on board and could be a jumping-off point for future systems.
On Wednesday, the company unveiled what it calls Model 401 before a group of media in Palmdale. The single-engine, subsonic aircraft is a technology demonstrator used to flight test a variety of payloads.
The Mojave-based aerospace firm is a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, and while Model 401 was initially created for another, unnamed customer, it may be used by Northrop as a basis for future unmanned systems.
Transforming the aircraft into an unmanned system is “the easiest thing to do,” Scaled Composites President Cory Bird said.
The aircraft itself is not new, and has been witnessed flying from the Mojave Air and Space Port over the past four years. This week, however, marked the first time the company presented it publicly.
The Model 401 is an example of the company’s ability to
rapidly design, build and test unique technology. The aircraft went from a clean sheet design to flight in 24 months.
Two Model 401s were built, at nearly the same time, incorporating design and build lessons from the first aircraft into the second.
The first vehicle made its first flight in October 2017, followed by the second vehicle in April 2018, according to Scaled Composites materials.
“I’ve seen it all. It never gets old to see a first flight,” said Bird, who has been with the company for 36 years. “You gauge it by how big your goose bumps are.”
The aircraft can be converted from manned to unmanned quickly by removing the pilot support systems, he said.
It is used for flight testing purposes for a number of companies, not only its original customer. It is booked for testing for the next couple years, Bird said.
The Model 401 led to what Scaled calls the Model 437, a completely autonomous aircraft that could be used to prove out any number of technologies and designs for these future families of systems.
It is designed to use a more powerful engine for faster speed, in order to keep up with fighters such as the F-35, Bird said.
So far, the 437 is still a concept, without full-scaled hardware built.
“We’re offering these two airplanes (the 401 and 437) for the future family of systems for Northrop Grumman,” Bird said.
Northrop Grumman is advancing various technologies that could be used for future weapons systems that would combine both manned and unmanned aircraft working together to maximize the strengths and utility of different aircraft.
These advancements come as the nation’s defense plans are at “a tipping point,” shifting from the Global War on Terror to focus on the threats posed by other nations such as China, said Richard Sullivan, Northrop Grumman’s vice president of program management.
“We’re trying to define what’s possible for the requirements that come,” he said. “Those requirements are still in flux.”
The company is building on its history of unmanned programs, such as the operational Global Hawk and its maritime patrol cousin, the Triton. The company also was the first to demonstrate the capability for launching and landing unmanned vehicles on an aircraft carrier, as well as aerial refueling, with the X-47B.