The American company General Atomics (GA) is developing a hybrid engine for the promising stealth drone MQ-Next. This is reported by Breaking Defense.
The concept of a drone made according to the "flying wing" scheme was presented at the conference of the Association of the United States Air Force (Air Force). Mike Atwood, Senior Director for Advanced Programs at General Atomics, noted that the device can receive a power plant made using "breakthrough technology".
"We believe that GA will pioneer an entirely new way to propel air-breathing vehicles. It will be introduced in the coming years, but it is a completely revolutionary technology. It uses a hybrid electric system, where, in fact, the Tesla Model S and RQ-170 are combined, and you have a fully electric aircraft," Atwood noted.
Dave Alexander, President of Aviation Systems at General Atomics, noted that the new power plant will allow the device to stay in the air for up to 60 hours without refueling.
In February, it became known that the Central Institute of Aviation Engine Building named after Baranov will begin work on the creation of hybrid engines for promising aircraft.
