the Navy said this week. “Reaching this critical test point demonstrates the growing maturity of the air system, and its readiness to move to the next phase of flight testing,” said Janis Pamiljans, program manager for Northrop Grumman. The project team aims to complete takeoffs and landings from an aircraft carrier in 2013.
Northrop Grumman X-47BThe recent flight was part of an ongoing envelope expansion program for the first of two X-47B aircraft produced by Northrop Grumman for the Navy’s Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration program. Envelope expansion flights are used to demonstrate aircraft performance under a variety of altitude, speed and fuel load conditions, according to Northrop Grumman’s news release. The vehicle first flew in February
Northrop Grumman X-47BThe development of a stealthy Uninhabited Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV), large enough to carry about two tons of ordnance – the same as a front-line fighter aircraft, is the next goal. Such a UCAV would then be capable of conducting high-risk missions, such as Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD), without risking the life of a pilot. A UCAV would also be one of the first systems to benefit from the development of the Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) which will have the explosive effect of a 2,000lb bomb and yet weigh only about 250lb. As the concept for a UCAV was developed another part of it called for the vehicles to be capable of being stored, minus their wings, in a purpose-built climate-controlled container which would be wired into the vehicle and monitor the various systems to ensure they remained healthy. The containers would then be stored in a hanger and then used as necessary – six such containers would be carried to a forward airfield in a C-17 or twelve in a C-5. Boeing X-45A
Northrop Grumman X-47B videoTwo UCAVs are currently under development in demonstration programmes. In 1999 Boeing were awarded a contract to build two small development UCAVs named the X-45A which first flew in May 2002. The X-45A has one working weapons bay, with the other bay filled with avionics. Instead of a traditional hydraulic system, with the exception of the nose wheel steering and hiking system, the X-45A was all electric. The single Honeywell F124-GA-100 eingine was fed through an unusual serpentine inlet and used a yaw thrust vectoring system. The X-45A could carry a payload of 1,500lbs, operate at 35,000ft and cruise at Mach 0.75.
Northrop Grumman X-47A
Meanwhile Northrop Grumman was also building a small development UCAV for the US Navy – the X-47A. Although a similar size to the X-45A, the X-47A was a completely different shape, but had similar performance. The X-47A was designed from the outset to investigate whether UCAV’s were suitable for carrier operations and simulated typical carrier operations by landing near a predesignated touchdown point and utilized the Shipboard-Relative Global Positioning Satellite (SRGPS) system, the same as fitted to a F/A-18 Hornet, as its guidance system for a precision landing. The X-47A was powered by a single Pratt & Whitney JT15D-5C engine. Northrop Grumman X-47B
