General Atomics Sparrowhawk

Lore & Background

The Sparrowhawk originated from General Atomics' submission to the DARPA Gremlins program, which sought small UAVs that could be deployed and recovered midair by a mothership. Chris Pehrson, vice-president of strategic development for Department of Defense customers with General Atomics, stated in 2019 that the planned first flight would be in 2020, with a sale to customers expected by 2021. Initial information referred to the aircraft as 'SparrowHawk' and indicated it would be jet-powered, though the design later shifted to a hybrid-electric system.

The Sparrowhawk is a low-wing monoplane with a V-tail configuration. Its wing can rotate 90 degrees between stowed and in-flight positions, similar to an oblique wing, stowed while carried and deployed when dropped. It is powered by a hybrid-electric system using JP-8 fuel to drive two electric ducted fans located on the rear, in front of the tail. The payload bay can carry up to 60 pounds and draw 2 kilowatts at 28 volts. Proposed roles include imaging sensors, imaging radar, SIGINT/ELINT systems, and jamming systems.

For in-flight recovery, the mothership unreels a tether with a small ball on the end from a carrying pylon. The Sparrowhawk catches the tether using two arms on the fuselage: the rear arm extends as the drone flies up, the tether is guided by the wing's leading edge, then the second arm extends and guides the tether between them. The drone powers down and tilts toward the tether, causing the ball to catch on the arms, which lock into the fuselage as the arms close and the wing rotates. The mothership then reels the tether back and locks the Sparrowhawk to the pylon. Illustrations show up to four Sparrowhawks could be carried by a single MQ-9 Reaper; the MQ-1C Gray Eagle may also carry four, though a January 2023 revelation indicated a different project, the 'Eaglet' Air-Launched Effect, was depicted in some renderings.

Reader's Guide

The Sparrowhawk represents a step in the development of recoverable parasite UAVs, building on concepts explored by the DARPA Gremlins program. Its rotating wing and hybrid-electric propulsion are distinctive design choices aimed at enabling compact stowage and efficient flight. The midair recovery system, using a tether and dual-arm catching mechanism, is a key technical feature that allows the drone to be retrieved by its mothership, potentially extending mission endurance and reducing the need for ground-based launch and recovery. General Atomics has proposed the Sparrowhawk for multiple roles including ISR, radar imaging, SIGINT/ELINT, and jamming, with a payload bay designed for rapid swaps. Testing began in September 2020 using Area-I Altius-600 UAVs aboard an MQ-1C Gray Eagle, and a prototype was photographed attached to an MQ-9 Reaper later that month, though missing its ducted fans. The prototype demonstrated the catch maneuver with a robotic arm, and the reeling mechanism was tested on a manned aircraft with a small mockup. Captive carriage test flights aboard an MQ-9 Reaper have also been conducted. The Sparrowhawk's development continues, with its potential integration with MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1C Gray Eagle platforms suggesting a path toward operational use.