The Bombardier CRJ series of regional jets can be found operating feeder flights all over the world. Bombardier produced early 2,000 of these aircraft between 1994 and 2020, including 330 CRJ700s. In an unlikely role change, this is also the type of aircraft that US aerospace and defense giant Northrop Grumman uses to test fighter jet noses.
A notable new nose
Even in their normal passenger-carrying configurations, aircraft from the Bombardier CRJ series have conspicuously pointy noses. In the case of test aircraft, this part of the aircraft tends to be even longer anyway, but Northrop Grumman has gone one better.
Specifically, as spotted by aeroTELEGRAPH, the West Virginia-based defense juggernaut has equipped a Bombardier CRJ700 in a way that allows it to test fighter jet noses. This increases the length of its pointy front end even further, and makes for a striking sight.
The aircraft bears the registration N804X. According to data from ch-aviation.com, it is 22.23 years old, and first flew on June 17th, 1999. As it began its career as a testbed aircraft for Bombardier itself, this was also its delivery date. It stayed there until 2010 when, after a brief spell under the ownership of Learjet, it joined Northrop Grumman.
What is this plane used for?
The purpose of N804X's lengthy nose is to test various systems that will later go on to be implemented on fighter aircraft. As seen in the tweet below, this typically results in its cylindrical nose taking on a more pointy form, as aspects like missile seekers are attached.
In November 2020, as reported by Interesting Engineering, Northrop Grumman used the aircraft to test an advanced warfare system for F-16 fighter jets. Known as the APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR), this sensor allows pilots to identify targets with a greater level of precision. The company explained in a statement released at the time that:
"Northrop Grumman is a pioneer in developing multi-function sensors. Through our iterative development and flight demonstrations, we are focused on agile development with OMS-compliant sensors and commercial practices to prove the rapid integration of capabilities across mission sets. The result is faster and more affordable advances in sensor capabilities for U.S. forces and their allies."
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A three-aircraft CRJ700 fleet
As it happens, N804X is, in fact, one of three CRJ700s that Northrop Grumman operates for testbed purposes. The second of these is an 18.11-year-old example which, as seen in the photograph above, used to fly for Lufthansa CityLine. It did so from 2003 to 2015, before joining Northrop Grumman. As of May 2021, it had accumulated 23,945 flight hours.
Northrop Grumman's third and final CRJ700 series aircraft is presently inactive, in order for it to undergo maintenance. Registered as N806X, this 20.51-year-old jet began its career at French regional carrier Brit Air in 2001. In 2013, this airline became known as 'HOP!', and the aircraft left France to join Adria in 2016. Since 2018, it has flown for Northrop Grumman.
Did you know that Northrop Grumman uses the Bombardier CRJ700 to try out fighter jet noses? Have you ever seen one of these testbed aircraft yourself? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.