Image source: topwar.ru
The American defense company Northrop Grumman has selected a PW500 turbofan engine from a business jet for its YFQ-48A Talon Blue fighter drone. An experimental sample of this unmanned aerial vehicle is currently undergoing ground tests before flying.
This is reported by the press service of Pratt & Whitney, which produces these engines.
The drone is an unmanned fighter aircraft that performs the functions of a "faithful wingman." Although the partnership between the two companies involved in its creation was announced only recently, according to American experts, it has been going on for some time.
Image source: topwar.ru
P&W said that its specialists have carried out extensive work to expand the capabilities of a commercial aircraft engine for use in military aircraft. The head of its division specializing in engines for the Armed Forces, Jill Albertelli, said:
And the Northrop Grumman press service said the following::
Initially, the US military "rejected" a sample of an autonomous fighter proposed by Northrop Grumman. Then the company continued to work on it at its own expense without government funding. After evaluating the results, the US Air Force changed its mind about the development, recognizing it as promising and assigning it the designation YFQ-48A.
