American defense contractor Northrop Grumman is poised to develop a drone technology that can reportedly land anywhere and will have the same number of onboard weaponry as the Predator or Reaper drone. A fleet of this aerial devices can be launched from a Navy ship and undertake massive air attacks on enemy targets.
Northrop pitched the project before the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under its Tern program. The organization will award the contract to build the full-scale prototype in January next year, according to the Daily Mail. DARPA's requirement is for the drone to operate from DDG-class ships or smaller and that it should be able to carry a 272 kg payload up to 900 nautical miles. The drone is also expected to land vertically on a ship within Sea State 5 conditions.
"Effective 21st-century warfare requires the ability to conduct airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and strike mobile targets anywhere, around the clock," said Dr. Daniel Patt, a personnel at DARPA, i4U News reported.
Northrop is keeping the project under wraps and will not release or confirm detailed information or renders. It has revealed, however, that the drone will have a tailsitter design, which will enable it to land on ships smaller than aircraft carriers, according to RT. The drone is purportedly based on the Lockheed XFV-1 concept designed during the 1950s.
Northrop Grumman also made quite a splash recently when it announced that it will be building a sixth-generation stealth fighter jet that will be equipped with laser weapon system, as HNGN previously reported.
