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Uncrewed aircraft · Air

XRQ-73 SHEPARD

Hybrid-electric flying-wing X-plane built for DARPA's SHEPARD propulsion demonstration.

by Northrop Grumman

PrototypeUncrewed aircraftAirFirst flightApr 2026
northropgrumman.com/what-we-do/aircraft/shepard-hybrid-electric-uncrewed-aircraft-system
  • Milestones1
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Northrop Grumman's XRQ-73 Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration (SHEPARD) uncrewed flying wing, built with Scaled Composites for DARPA to demonstrate quiet, efficient hybrid-electric propulsion.

Timeline1

  1. First flightReported

    First flight at Edwards AFB

    DARPA announced the flight in May 2026; the article says the flight took place in April. The first flight had originally been hoped for before the end of 2024.

The latest 10 milestones. Solid entries are confirmed, outlined reported, dashed estimated or still to come; dotted italic entries are speculative. Dates show only the precision the sources give.