Northrop Grumman RQ-180

Reconnaissance Stealth UAV

Aviation / Aerospace

1 / 1

Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

The Northrop Grumman RQ-180 is being developed as a high-speed, stealth-minded, airspace-penetrating UAV reconnaissance platform.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 7/6/2017 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com

The existence of the Northrop Grumman RQ-180 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) was unveiled by the United States Air Force in December of 2013. It is an unarmed, reconnaissance-minded platform intended for deep penetration actions over enemy airspace. It is assumed that the vehicle utilizes extensive stealth features including unique body-shaping and coatings to avoid enemy detection. The system is along the same form and function of the competing Lockheed RQ-170 Sentinel though with a more extended endurance envelope. The RQ-180 was selected ahead of competing designs offered by Boeing and Lockheed.

Northrop Grumman has already enjoyed considerable public exposure through recent successes with the X-47B product for the US Navy - completing the first-ever carrier landing by a UAV in aviation history. Northrop Grumman also has over a decades-worth of experience in supporting the technologically-advanced fleet of B-2 Spirit flying wing stealth bombers. It is believed that the new RQ-180 takes on a similar design shape as the X-47B. The vehicle's wingspan is estimated to be around 130 feet though little else on the product has been revealed to date (December 2013).

This article will be updated as new information becomes available.

Specifications

Year:
2015

Crew
0

[ 1 Units ] :
Northrop Grumman - USA

United States

- Reconnaissance (RECCE)
- X-Plane / Developmental
- Unmanned

Length:
131.23 ft (40 m)

Width:
164.04 ft (50 m)

Height:
34.45 ft (10.5 m)

(Showcased structural dimension values pertain to the Northrop Grumman RQ-180 production model)

Empty Weight:
14,110 lb (6,400 kg)

MTOW:
44,533 lb (20,200 kg)
(Diff: +30,424lb)

(Showcased weight values pertain to the Northrop Grumman RQ-180 production model)

(Assumed) 1 x turbofan engine.

(Showcased powerplant information pertains to the Northrop Grumman RQ-180 production model)

Service Ceiling:
40,026 feet (12,200 m; 7.58 miles)

Max Range:
2,423 miles (3,900 km; 2,106 nm)

(Showcased performance values pertain to the Northrop Grumman RQ-180 production model; Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database)

None. Mission-specific payloads as related to reconnaissance, surveillance and intelligence-gathering.

(Showcased armament details pertain to the Northrop Grumman RQ-180 production model)

RQ-180 - Base Series Designation

Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force

Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway

Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift

Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War

Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars

Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War

Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War

Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War

Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War

Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era

Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War

Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

* Ribbons not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective campaigns/operations.

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world and WDMMA.org, the World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft.