UAV Research Report (5) United States: Large UAV RQ-180

Selected Works of Weapons and Equipment

Part III: Drone Research Report

(Fives)

Development of drones in countries around the world

United States: Large UAV RQ-180

Large drone RQ-180

The RQ-180 is a highly confidential large stealth drone developed by Northrop Grumman. The drone will perform an infiltration ISR mission that has no equipment to bear since the SR-71 was retired in 1998. The RQ-180 is already in the flight test phase, and the machine demonstrates the latest achievements in the integrated design of stealth and aerodynamic efficiency. Defense and intelligence officials said the stealth drone system has been scheduled for production and is scheduled to be delivered to the US Air Force for operational use in 2015, primarily for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

According to defense officials, the RQ-180's main mission payloads include radio Sensors such as active phased array radar (AESA) and passive electronic monitoring and measurement devices, and the ability to perform electronic attack missions.

The design of the aircraft is a key shift in the US Air Force's ISR equipment, that is , the equipment operating environment has changed from a "loose" environment like Iraq and Afghanistan to a "combat" and "refusal" airspace operation, and the US Air Force is currently equipped with "global" Both Eagle and Death are designed for the pre-class environment. The new stealth drone is the support of the Air Force's determination to retire a series of RQ-4B (should be Block 30) after 2014, although the decision was rejected by Congress. The emergence of the RQ-180 has eclipsed the once stunning RQ-170 "Sentinel" because of its larger size, better stealth performance and greater range.

If the ISR model is used in the past, the new drone will be jointly controlled by the US Air Force and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The US Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office will be responsible for project management and the Air Force will be responsible for flight use. According to the facts of the US Air Force, this model has been applied to the RQ-170, which is part of the US Air Force's 30th Reconnaissance Squadron.

In 2008, Northrop Grumman’s financial report stated that it might receive a contract for a US UAS project, and the company disclosed that its integrated systems division added a $2 billion default order. The department has undertaken the development of the B-2 bomber, the Global Hawk UAV, the Fire Scout UAV and the X-47B unmanned combat aircraft system verification machine. This year, Northrop Grumman's financial report confirmed that an anonymous UAV project entered a small batch of initial production.

In addition to disclosures in financial reports, public photo shoots show that the Northrop Corporation plant in Palmdale, Calif., and the Air Force Confidential Test Flight Center in Area 51, Muff Lake, Nevada, have new wingspans that can accommodate more than 130 feet ( 39.624 m) of the aircraft's plant and hangar. Northrop Grumman also undertook the expansion of its Palmdale facility in 2010, perhaps to protect the production of the RQ-180.

The emergence of new stealth drones explains the reason for some inconsistency: US Air Force officials have frequently asked for new penetration ISR capabilities. But there is no public evidence that the service has planned to develop a similar aircraft.

Lieutenant General Charles Davis, the US military's top military procurement official, said the Air Force would not purchase the Global Hawk after 2014 and hopes to use the funds for higher-priority projects. In defending the "Global Hawk" procurement plan, Davis said, "We will not make such an assumption without seriously considering how to perform such tasks by U-2 and other secure platforms." When asked for more explanation at a public congressional hearing, he said "we may need to make a more detailed explanation on another occasion."

Lieutenant General Robert Alto, the deputy chief of staff of the Air Force responsible for the ISR, said that the highest priority for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions is to “rebalance and optimize our integrated ISR capabilities”. He said that the combined investment model of multiple types of equipment does not apply to all problems. The Air Force has invested too much in ISR equipment in a “loose” environment and must switch to equipment that wins the “confrontation” environment. The Air Force will seek a more balanced fleet of unmanned platforms to perform penetration missions in denial airspace and provide unprecedented levels of durability.

Alto said that the United States has the ability to purchase and deploy 65 MQ-9 "Death" and MQ-1 "predator" combat patrol formations after 2014, and may shift procurement priorities to Northrop's new system.

The above public statement is a by-product of an internal debate on the number of new secret drones to be purchased. A clear consensus is that small-scale "silver bullets" are needed to perform special military and CIA missions, and a larger fleet can ensure that fighters and bombers fight a wider range of targets. The influential US think tank, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment (CSBA), recommended in a 2009 report that the Air Force establish five squadrons, each with 10 high-altitude stealth ISR unmanned penetration equipment. But such a large fleet is costly and requires competing with other high-priority projects such as joint attack fighters and long-range strike bombers.

In addition, if the United States purchases more RQ-180 secret drones, it will be difficult to keep it secret. Historically, the US Air Force has consistently refused to establish combat troops in Area 51 because it is difficult to maintain multiple secrecy projects in Area 51. For example, workers are often required to be restricted to indoor activities because other confidential items are being tested in the field. If there is a project that is conducted at the operational pace, the situation of such disruption will increase significantly.

In April 2013, Alto’s predecessor, Lieutenant General Larry James, former deputy chief of staff for the ISR mission, acknowledged that the Air Force recognized the need to disseminate information on confidential projects more widely to ensure that combat commanders better understand them. Ability. In response to questions from Aviation Week at the Stimson Center in Washington, James said the Air Force has a project that covers all difficult environments and is developing new capabilities.

The RQ-180 is derived from Northrop Grumman's Joint Unmanned Combat Aircraft (J-UCAS) project. The main reason for the cancellation of the J-UCAS project at the end of 2005 was the difference in demand that the Air Navy could not bridge. The Navy hopes that a type of ship-borne drone will eventually move toward the current X-47B project. The Air Force hopes that the large-scale, long-range "global strike enabler" has more powerful capabilities than the RQ-170, which is the current RQ-180. The 2007 fiscal year naval budget document showed that the J-UCAS project was separated into the Naval Validator project (later X-47B) and the Air Force's secret project in December 2005. At the same time, Northrop publicly discussed a series of extended wingspan X-47C configuration, the longest wingspan solution reached 172 feet, equipped with 2 General Electric CF34 engines, and can carry 10,000 pounds (4500 Kilogram) weapon load.

The RQ-180 is slightly smaller than the X-47C, and it is unclear whether the aircraft will perform the strike mission. The aircraft is similar in size and battery life to the Global Hawk, with a maximum takeoff weight of 32,250 pounds (14,641 kilograms) and a permanent stay of 24 hours at a distance of 1,200 nautical miles (2,222 kilometers) from the base. In comparison, the small RQ-170 performs tasks for 5-6 hours.

The most critical feature of the RQ-180 is to further improve the stealth capability of the omnidirectional broadband radar based on the F-117, F-22, and F-35. This feature will help combat low frequency and high frequency threats from all directions. The design also incorporates stealth and ultra-efficient aerodynamic layouts to increase flight altitude, range and mission time.

The model uses Northrop's stealth "tailless flying wing" layout design, similar to the X-47B, consisting of a central body with a large sweep angle and a slender large aspect ratio outer wing. The Northrop Grumman engineering staff (before the disclosure of the secret project) publicly stated that the flying wing layout (of the X-47B) is scalable and adaptive compared to the B-2 flying wing layout. of. The center body length and volume of the RQ-180 can be larger to match the size of the aircraft.

Industry officials say computational fluid dynamics shows that the new stealth drone can achieve the same efficiency as a conventional layout aircraft. The management of complex three-dimensional flow fields is the key to obtaining more laminar flow in the airfoil, and is also the key to designing a stealth compact intake and exhaust system, and ultimately achieves lighter and more efficient than the B-2.

Pneumatic efficiency and stealth are often contradictory. B-2's "toothpick"-like leading edge, that is, the nose and wing tip are sharp, while the middle part is thick, which is essentially the result of compromise between stealth performance and aerodynamic efficiency. Maintaining a large degree of laminar flow in the swept wing is an achievement in itself, as the directional airflow is prone to turbulence, especially given the effects of airflow from the inlet.

The pursuit of laminar flow and aerodynamic efficiency may have led to the development of new structures and manufacturing techniques. Northrop Grumman's acquisition of Scaled Composites in 2007 is the world's leading manufacturer of large composite body structures capable of producing a continuous fastener-free body surface structure.

Engine integration is often a challenge for stealth design. The length and volume of the serpentine intake and exhaust system (mainly used to block radar reflections from engine components) is proportional to the diameter of the engine because the radius of curvature of the pipe must be increased to avoid distortion. In addition, a larger bypass ratio engine with a larger diameter is often less prone to flow distortion tailoring than a small bypass engine. This is why most subsonic stealth aircraft, including the B-2, typically use a non-energized version of the fighter engine, which is often less fuel efficient.

The RQ-180 uses a medium bypass ratio engine similar to the CF-34 modified engine used in the X-47 basic concept. The engine's available thrust is expected to exceed the Rolls-Royce AE3007H used by Global Hawk, which has a thrust of 7,600 pounds for better height performance and more power output to accommodate increased loads. .

In combat use, the RQ-180 can extend its range by refueling in the air , although it is not clear whether the aircraft will adopt this technology. Prior to 2008, Northrop Grumman repeatedly stated that the X-47-based aircraft will increase its air travel time to 100 hours. Of course, the aircraft components need to be correspondingly improved to meet the needs of long-term work.

The Navy conducted a hose refueling test under the X-47B project, but used a manned aircraft simulation test flight. The Air Force conducted independent tests in 2008, using hard tankers and manned simulators. However, since 2008, there have been no public reports on hard-line refueling of drones.

After synthesizing the latest achievements in stealth and aerodynamics, the RQ-180 shows that low detectability can still cope with new threats such as low-frequency radar. The technology adopted by this type of drone will also be the basis for the development of the US Air Force Long Range Bombard (LRS-B) and will complement the B-2 and other long-range strike equipment. Compared to its predecessor, the RQ-180 shows that in the future, the extremely expensive "all-round" platform will be replaced by a networked system of coordinated systems.

Source: "Weapons and Equipment Research Selected" International Defense Science and Technology Series (2015, No. 5, No. 15) The Management Research Center of China Electronics Science Research Institute compiled / picture from the original report or the Internet.

Selected Works of Weapons and Equipment

Part I: US Aircraft Research Report

Selected Works of Weapons and Equipment

Part II: Foreign AWACS Research Report

Foreign AWACS Research Report (1): Development History + Early Warning Aircraft Map

Foreign AWACS Research Report (II): US E-3 Series "Wanglou" Early Warning Aircraft

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