In 1968 the US Navy's Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) began considering potential future requirements for a maritime patrol aircraft to replace the versatile Lockheed P-3 Orion and enter service in the 1975-1985 timeframe. Under contract from the Navy, Lockheed undertook a six-month study of concepts for a P-3 successor, and the company designation CL-1170 was applied to those studies. A total of six configurations ranging from conventional designs to tailless concepts were worked out.
The initial design studies under the CL-1170 designation took the form of conventional two- and four-engine designs configured to meet two different gross weight requirements of 150,000 lb (68,038 kg) and 500,000 lb (226,796 kg). The smaller aircraft would have a fuselage similar to that of the P-3 Orion, making it close in size to the Boeing 737, while the larger aircraft would be similar in size to the Boeing 747. A parallel series of CL-1170 studies looked at two different sizes of tailless aircraft designed for the same gross weight requirements, and those concepts utilized laminar flow control and future advances in high-bypass turbofan engines that would enable long, fuel-efficient loitering. To save weight, composite materials and aluminum alloys would be utilized for the CL-1170. All CL-1170 concepts investigated by Lockheed were to use multiple wheel, tricycle landing gear, and they would be capable of in-flight refueling.
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| Three-view drawing of the four-engine Lockheed CL-1170-6-2 concept |
Two tailless CL-1170 concepts were worked out by Lockheed. The CL-1170-4-1 had two high-bypass turbofans situated below the trailing edge of the wing (two advanced turboprops were also considered), and it spanned 131 feet (40 meters) with a length of 97 feet (29.5 meters), a height of 27 feet (8 meters), a wing area of 1,890 ft2 (175 m2), a weight of 150,000 lb (68,038 kg), and a crew of ten. Armament for the CL-1170-4-1 comprised Mk 46 or Mk 50 torpedoes, mines, depth chargers, free-fall bombs, AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and AGM-65F Maverick air-to-surface missiles. The CL-1170-4-1 had a single vertical stabilizer and also utilized outrigger landing gear to ensure stability. The bigger design, the CL-1170-6-2, had a wingspan of 224 feet (68 meters), a wing area of 5,000 ft2 (464.5 m2), a length of 95 feet 6 in (29 meters), a height of 36 feet 9 in (11 meters), and a gross weight of 500,000 lb (226,796 kg). It was powered by four advanced high-bypass turbofans, two situated below the wing's trailing edge and two mounted above the aft fuselage (a combination of two turbofans and two turboprops was investigated as an alternate powerplant for the CL-1170-6-2), and it would have an endurance of 90 hours over a combat radius of 3,452 miles (5,556 km). Details of armament are lacking, but the CL-1170-6-2's weapons load was probably similar to that of the CL-1170-4-1.
In the end, NAVAIR made no preference for a select CL-1170 design, and the CL-1170 project was not proceeded with.
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