Scaled Composites Model 401 Sierra

Interesting choice of nomenclature, not nearly as photogenic as Ares though.
 
https://facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155510434910658&id=358436530657

Today we successfully executed the first flight of Model 401 Vehicle 2. As a proof of concept, rapid prototyping company it is very rare when we get to build more than one of the same type of aircraft.

We would like to give a huge shout-out to the team that made this all possible and to our test pilot, Brian Maisler, for a great first flight!
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https://twitter.com/tropicostation/status/987764018835210241?s=19
 

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quellish said:
Ares spent a lot of time at Pax in recent years, 401 is continuing that work.
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Do you know what work it was doing? Are they using these like they used to use the TA-7's to simulate different weapons against the fleet?
 
The Navy's TPS is at Pax River. I don't have any info; haven't been in that neck of the wood in ages, but I would guess that it is simply getting put through its paces by the student pilots. They frequently use odd or rare types. Not to strictly to gather data on the aircraft (which is already collected), but to let the pilots do demo fights, fly strict profiles for data collection, practice methodology for envelope expansion, write up their reports, document characteristics, etc. So aircraft with unique characteristics are often considered a plus. Sometimes it is older types, including various MiGs. Sometimes something new.

Obviously other things go on at Pax, so testing different systems and sensors or threat simulation isn't something I would rule out. But were I to guess, I'd say it is a participant in the qualitative evaluation program training.
 
Mdel401Variant..PNG
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I was wondering if I should post to this thread,
A model of UAV similar to XQ-58 appeared in the photograph of the scaled composites booth of AIAA SciTech in 2022.

Is this Model 437?
 
There seems to be a lot of inconsistent information out there. Scaled themselves describe it as the Sierra project and is used to conduct payload tests "for a variety of customers". Others suggest it is the test prototype for a forthcoming Model 437 unmanned drone, or conducting stealth experiments. Nobody admits to ordering or owning them, though they fly from a military airfield.
Some links of varying age and/or reliability:
 
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Scaled Composites on Instagram: "#OTD in 2017 our first Model 401 Sierra made its first flight! The first of two clean-sheet vehicles, development from initial concept to first flight of N401XP took only 24 months. #firstflight #5thbirthday #flightt

Scaled Composites shared a post on Instagram: "#OTD in 2017 our first Model 401 Sierra made its first flight! The first of two clean-sheet vehicles, development from initial concept to first flight of N401XP took only 24 months. #firstflight #5thbirthday #flighttest". Follow their account to...
www.instagram.com
 
It could well be only a kind of experimental flow study with laser velocimetry. (see how the geometry is close to that of a Scramjet).

See the far field sensor under the nose. The outlet one under the apparatus exhaust section. And probably other gauges on either side of the nose. Look to me as something to assert the flow field for an experiment.
 

Yup, same mods Ares had, supporting the same program.
 
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marauder2048 said:
Maybe a customer who doesn't want to pay General Atomics' asking price for Avenger.
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Perhaps it is aimed at an unstable, foreign customer that the USAF does not trust with the latest UAV soft-ware … a country like Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, etc.

This reminds me of a conversation with a U.S. Navy SEAL who had just returned from some unstable Latin American country where he had been training local police on how to conduct riverine raids on narco-traffickers. When I asked him if he was worried about having to re-invade the country in another few years, he replied “Don’t worry because we only taught them 3/4 of what we know.”
Hah!
Hah!
 


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