Air system · Hybrid-Electric Demonstrator UAV
XRQ-73 SHEPARD
Low-Signature ISR / Technology Demonstration
Also known as: SHEPARD / XRQ-73A / Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration
XRQ-73 SHEPARD overview
XRQ-73 SHEPARD is DARPA's Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration, a U.S. technology program exploring a hybrid-electric unmanned aircraft for low-signature, expeditionary intelligence and surveillance. Its purpose is to demonstrate an aircraft and propulsion architecture that could make persistent unmanned missions more efficient and harder to detect; it is not publicly documented as an operational armed drone.
DARPA selected a Northrop Grumman-led team for SHEPARD, and the program's defining design feature is the series-hybrid electric propulsion approach. Public program announcements do not provide a complete performance specification for the demonstrator. Dimensions, speed, range, endurance, ceiling, payload, weight, sensor package, and production configuration are Not publicly disclosed, so the supplied artwork should not be read as a technical drawing.
The program was announced publicly in 2024 and received the XRQ-73 designation in U.S. military reporting. Through September 12, 2026, the defensible status is developmental technology demonstration: no public evidence establishes series production, an operational unit, or a confirmed weapon fit. Its value for comparison is propulsion and low-signature experimentation rather than fielded combat performance.
Armament
None publicly specified; technology demonstrator
Development and operational timeline
- DARPA selects a Northrop Grumman-led team for the SHEPARD hybrid-electric aircraft demonstration effort
- DARPA publicly identifies SHEPARD as the Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration
- The demonstrator receives the XRQ-73 designation in U.S. military and defense-program reporting
- Public program descriptions continue to characterize SHEPARD as a developmental technology demonstrator rather than an operational aircraft
- SHEPARD remains developmental in the public record; no production or service-entry announcement is confirmed by the research cutoff