Northrop Grumman releases new future UAV concept art

Northrop Grumman has released new concept art of a future unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which shows a sleeker design to that previously shown in late 2021.

The artist’s rendering, shows an unmanned version of the Model 401 manned experimental prototype developed by Northrop Grumman subsidiary, Scaled Composites.

Although the latest concept art shares the same scale and overall dimensions of the manned Model 401 on which it is based, it differs from an earlier concept drawing of the unmanned Model 437 version released by Northrop Grumman in September 2021. This latest rendering reveals a sleeker and more aerodynamic design of the frontal fuselage and swept back wings, suggesting that speed is to be prioritised as a performance characteristic of the new vehicle.