The first images of Northrop Grumman’s Model 437, an advanced air combat drone that could potentially fill the requirement for the Air Force’s and/or Navy’s “loyal wingman” Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programs, as well as those of allies, have hit social media. The relatively small tactical jet looks impressive and is very much in line with the concept renderings we have seen of it, aside from one major detail — it has a cockpit.
Yes, that’s right, the Model 437 prototype features a cockpit for a pilot. While this may seem extremely odd for what is supposed to be an advanced unmanned air combat aircraft, it actually makes some sense and it could give Northrop Grumman (NG) an advantage in the red-hot contest to provide hundreds, if not thousands, of highly autonomous drones to the USAF, as well as the Navy.
The images were taken by aviation photographer @Task_Force23 at Mojave Air And Space Port in California, which is the home of the famed Scaled Composites (SC) ‘bleeding-edge’ aerospace design house that is building the stealthy Model 437 prototype.
When concept art was first unveiled back in 2021, the Model 437 was envisioned as working alongside manned aircraft collaboratively, both fighters and larger combat aircraft, including in an asset protection role for the latter. In our initial report on the concept design, which you should read for full context of this article, its general characteristics were stated as follows:
“With regards to the new Model 437 design, it is also expected to have a range of some 3,000 nautical miles when carrying a load of 4,000 pounds of fuel, and will be able to cruise at around 0.8 Mach, according to Aviation Week. The drone has an internal centerline payload bay that is designed to carry up to 1,000 pounds of stores or other systems, as well. The outlet said that a pair of AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) or a side-looking radar imaging sensor were two possible loadouts.“
We don’t know if those design goals have changed, but they generally look copasetic with the aircraft in the pictures from Mojave Air And Space Port.
Initial Model 437 concept art (Northrop Grumman)
The aircraft, which sports the registry N437VN (certified in January of this year, according to FAA data), features a bowless bubble canopy, a pointed nose with a semi-trapezoidal fuselage, mid-set swept wings, a long dorsal air intake that hugs the rear of the canopy, a distinct chine-line that wraps around the airframe, trailing-link landing gear, and a splayed v-tail adorned in a camouflage pattern.
The aircraft also features a round exhaust and a long air data probe, which is customary for initial flight testing and is also visible on its nose. Once again, it looks very much like the Model 437 renderings, just with a bubble canopy. Overall, paired with its small size, it has a very futuristic, almost movie-prop-like look.
But why build the Model 437 prototype, supposedly a highly autonomous drone, with a cockpit?
Here are the possibilities and our overarching analysis, which is subject to change as we learn more about the state of the program:
Having this initial prototype piloted drastically increases the potential for rapid flight test and development of the Model 437 airframe and concept. The advantages include just accessing airspace pretty much anywhere its owners and potential customers want it to go.
Unmanned aircraft are still quite restricted as to where and how they can operate. A pilot totally changes this massive bottleneck and means the aircraft can be flown wherever it needs to go, to participate in any developmental flights or training exercises, no matter how complex. It can do this unburdened by typical drone airspace restrictions and the need for chase aircraft that can be required in certain situations. Just ferrying to a different location while manned, so it can access airspace where it can fly as if it were an unmanned aircraft, is a giant advantage.
For many tests, having a human onboard can accelerate the speed at which they can be accomplished. At its most basic, initial primary flight testing of the airframe will go far faster with a pilot at the controls. Overall, more risks can be taken when executing autonomous activities with a pilot there to take over and act as a safety backstop if needed.
The X-62 is being used in this exact manner today and it has been highly successful in doing so. But that is an adapted F-16D that is running autonomy agents (software), not a near-production representative CCA-like airframe. This is a huge difference, especially considering one is actually looking to be bought in large quantities, while the other is a one-off test surrogate.
If the Model 437 prototype we are seeing is a dedicated piloted configuration, it’s very possible that NG and SC have another Model 437 prototype airframe in the unmanned configuration, or at least one under construction. Then there is the possibility that the aircraft we see is truly optionally manned…
Source: The War Zone