The Northrop jet is the first uncrewed fighter prototype to officially feature a Pratt & Whitney engine.
Military airframer Northrop Grumman has selected a business jet engine from Pratt & Whitney to power the company’s new YFQ-48A Talon Blue uncrewed fighter jet.
P&W revealed on 17 April that its PW500 turbofan will power the autonomous tactical jet, which Northrop hopes to offer in the emerging category of Collaborative Combat Aircraft.
Although just announced, the partnership has apparently been in the works for some time. P&W says it conducted an “extensive” test programme to expand the limits of the commercial engine to meet the needs of a military aircraft.
“We took a proven production engine, self-invested in key validation and capability improvement, and integrated it into this autonomous platform,” says Jill Albertelli president of military engines for P&W.
The company notes the PW500 has accrued more than 24 million flight hours globally with small- and mid-sized business jets.
The first example of the YFQ-48A (registration N444LX) is undergoing ground trials ahead of a flight test campaign.
“The YFQ-48A Talon Blue continues on its path to first flight in partnership with the US Air Force,” Northrop said on 17 April.
The company notably self-funded development of the Talon Blue after being eliminated by the air force earlier in the competitive process. The design showed enough promise that the USAF awarded the Northrop jet the YFQ-48A prototype designation after the fact.
Commercial business engines have emerged as a popular choice for CCA developers in order to meet the cost targets set out by prospective operators like the US Air Force. The autonomous jets are envisioned as “optionally attritable”, meaning frontline commanders can send CCAs to perform missions from which they may not return.
The USAF also hopes to supplement its overstretched fleets of manned fighters with uncrewed wignmen, starting with the Lockheed Martin F-22 air superiority fighter.
Achieving both the mass and attritability goals requires that CCAs carry a production cost well below that of modern fourth- and fifth-generation fighters. Engines are amongst the most complex and expensive components of a fighter jet, meaning an affordable propulsion solution is central to making the CCA concept a reality.
As such, business jet engines have become a popular choice for the first round of developmental CCAs, such as the Anduril Industries YFQ-44A and General Atomics YFQ-42A. Both are flying with the Williams International FJ44 powerplant.
Seeing opportunity in the emerging category, major propulsion suppliers including Honeywell Aerospace, P&W and GE Aerospace have launched efforts to deliver new small turbofans in the 800-1,600lb-thrust (3.5-7.1kN) range.
The US Air Force awarded contracts in February to Honeywell and the team of GE-Kratos for the first generation of CCA engines – the SkyShot1600 and GEK1500 respectively
The business jet engines currently being used to power the first generation of CCA prototypes are slightly larger.
The PW500 series offers anywhere from 2,900 to 4,500lb-thrust across eight engine variants, while the FJ44 has an output ranging from 2,700-3,600lb-thrust, depending on the specific model.
The post Pratt & Whitney PW500 engine will power Northrop Grumman YFQ-48 autonomous fighter first appeared on FlightGlobal.