LTV XQM-93

The LTV XQM‑93 was a highly experimental unmanned reconnaissance and strike platform developed by Vought in the early 1970s under a joint contract with the United States Air Force and the Naval Research Laboratory. Conceived as a successor to the earlier XQM‑85 series, the XQM‑93 incorporated a blended‑wing body, lightweight titanium‑alloy skin and a modular payload bay that could be swapped between high‑resolution optical sensors, side‑looking radar, or a small internal weapons compartment. Powered by a single Pratt & Whitney JT15D turbofan, the aircraft could cruise at Mach 0.85 for up to twelve hours, while its fly‑by‑wire flight‑control system allowed fully autonomous navigation using an early digital INS/ GPS hybrid. Only three prototypes were built; flight testing between 1974 and 1978 demonstrated reliable low‑observable characteristics and validated tactics for high‑altitude, long‑range ISR missions. Although the program was cancelled in 1979 due to budget cuts, the XQM‑93’s advanced avionics, composite structures and autonomous flight envelope directly influenced later UAV designs such as the General Atomics RQ‑4 Global Hawk and the modern Vought MQ‑25 Stingray’s control architecture. Its brief existence marked a pivotal step toward integrating unmanned technology into mainstream military aviation.

Vought

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