UV Online 
PARIS 2009: Northrop Grumman develops cargo UAV
Northrop Grumman has completed wind tunnel testing of a demonstration cargo carrying UAV that it hopes to offer as a future logistics capability. Speaking at the Paris Air Show, Gene Fraser, vice president and deputy Strike and Surveillance Systems Division, said that the company's work on the concept had moved beyond paper studies to initial wind tunnel testing of the design.
The UAV, a vertical take off and landing (VTOL) system, revealed by Northrop Grumman is being developed principally for naval applications. Both the US Marine Corps and the US Navy are interested in the potential uses of a large UAV capable of carrying substantial amounts of cargo from ship to shore. The former has a pre-solicitation questionnaire for such a UAV circulating around US industry.
Fraser said that the system being developed by Northrop Grumman is scaleable and could be capable of carrying up to 10,000lb of payload between naval vessels and forces ashore. The design shown by Northrop Grumman reveals a less than graceful winged VTOL design that has been designed to maximise its payload capacity. According to Fraser the UAV would be ship-based and integrated with other systems in the network.
Those involved in the company's Fire Scout programme have also expressed an interest in looking at the platform as a cargo carrier. Speaking to Unmanned Vehicles at IMDEX Asia in Singapore, business development manager Michael Fuqua said that Fire Scout could answer part of the cargo carrying requirement but unlike a new design developed specifically for such operations it would be a modification of a platform designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
By Darren Lake, Le Bourget
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