Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Updated DARPA Hybrid-Electric XRQ-73 Makes First Flight
Experimental aircraft to validate hybrid-electric propulsion technology
DARPA XRQ-73 in flight
The milestone flight, announced on May 6, took place in April from California’s Edwards Air Force Base. The current aircraft’s configuration features notable updates from its previous 2024 iteration. © Northrop Grumman

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has made the first flight of its experimental hybrid-electric XRQ-73 aircraft. The agency announced the flight on May 6, reporting that it had happened the previous month.

The uncrewed demonstrator, which was developed with prime contractor Northrop Grumman, is intended to support military uses for hybrid-propulsion applications. The test was conducted as part of DARPA’s Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration (SHEPARD) program.