In a recent demonstration Northrop Grumman incorporated its digital ecosystem and advanced production capabilities to build wings for the Model 437 technology demonstrator flown by company subsidiary Scaled Composites.
Development began in the fully connected digital ecosystem, with Northrop Grumman, the customer and supplier users collaborating to develop, analyse, build and test the wings ahead of the Model 437’s first flight, which occurred on 29 August 2024.
Northrop Grumman’s Digital Pathfinder project demonstrates how the company’s fully digital engineering ecosystem reduces engineering rework, accelerates schedules and reduces costs, offering advantages to customers on future aircraft programmes. By utilizing real-world experiences gained on programmes, including the one currently producing the B-21 Raider strategic bomber, the company continues to evolve its collaborative digital ecosystem, which connects the company, customers and supplier partners throughout the design, development and test phases on a variety of current and future programmes.
“We continue to refine these digital tools and capabilities to continuously improve them for future efforts,” Colin Miller, vice president of engineering for Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “This project demonstrates how high-fidelity models within our digital ecosystem serve as a single source of truth to streamline testing and certification on future aircraft, significantly saving cost and time for our customer.”
The digital ecosystem cut engineering rework and redesign to less than 1%, compared to the 15-20% experienced using traditional methods. The demonstration also leveraged high-fidelity models combined with rigorous and approved model validation schemes to reduce requirements for ground and flight tests. Looking forward, these models show the potential to significantly reduce the workload required to determine airworthiness, offering further cost and schedule savings opportunities.
Through Digital Pathfinder, Northrop Grumman’s high-integrity digital thread connected engineers, customers and stakeholders in a virtual environment, allowing them to proactively foresee and solve the types of problems that typically plague acquisition programmes up front and early, greatly improving programme performance.
The demonstration also utilised advanced manufacturing techniques, including the production of a titanium structural bracket using plasma arc energy deposition. The application of this innovative additive manufacturing technique to form a titanium part is believed to be a first in the defence industry. At the same time the Digital Pathfinder project applied advanced techniques to reduce the requirements for hard tooling while improving first-time quality and reducing manufacturing rework.
The Scaled Composites Model 437 technology demonstrator – which existed as an idea before Northrop Grumman’s Digital Pathfinder project – began as a conceptual design, derived from the previous Model 401, exploring a multi-mission, low-cost, attritable aircraft. Also known as the Vanguard, it is a crewed variant of an original unmanned Model 437 concept powered by a single Pratt & Whitney 535 engine with approximately 3,400 lb (1,542 kg) of thrust.
The Vanguard has a wingspan of 41 ft (12.5 m) and is 41 ft long with a gross take-off weight of 10,000 lb (4,536 kg). The aircraft is intended to have a range of approximately 3,000 nautical miles (5,556 km) and an endurance of six hours. The aircraft has a payload capcity of 2,000 pounds in multiple locations, including an internal weapons bay sized to accommodate two AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles.
