Northrop Grumman X-47B

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X-47B UCAS-D
The X-47B's first takeoff at Edwards AFB, California, in February 2011
Role Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle
Manufacturer Northrop Grumman
First flight 4 February 2011
Primary user United States Navy
Number built 2
Program cost US$813 million[1]
Developed from X-47A Pegasus
Developed into X-47C UCLASS

The Northrop Grumman X-47B is a demonstration unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) designed for carrier-based use. Developed by the American defense technology company Northrop Grumman, the X-47 project began as part of DARPA's J-UCAS program, and is now part of the United States Navy's UCAS-D (Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration) program, which aims to create a carrier-based unmanned aircraft. It is intended that the Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike System (UCLASS) will enter service in 2019. The X-47B first flew in 2011, and as of 2013, it is undergoing flight testing, having successfully performed a series of land- and carrier-based demonstrations.[2]

Contents

Design and development [edit]

Origins [edit]

The US Navy did not commit to practical UCAV efforts until 2000, when the service awarded contracts of US$2 million each to Boeing and Northrop Grumman for a 15-month concept-exploration program.[3] Design considerations for a naval UCAV included dealing with the corrosive saltwater environment, deck handling for launch and recovery, integration with command and control systems, and operation in an aircraft carrier's high-electromagnetic-interference environment. The Navy was also interested in procuring UCAVs for reconnaissance missions, penetrating protected airspace to identify targets for following attack waves.[4]

The J-UCAS program was terminated in February 2006 following the US military's Quadrennial Defense Review. The US Air Force and Navy proceeded with their own UAV programs. The Navy selected Northrop Grumman's X-47B as its unmanned combat air system demonstrator (UCAS-D) program.[5] A new weapon system will not be developed for the X-47B but it will carry existing weapons,[6] and has a full-sized weapons bay. To provide realistic testing, the demonstration vehicle is the same size and weight as the projected operational craft.[7][8][9]

The X-47B prototype rolled out from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, on December 16, 2008. Its first flight was planned for November 2009, but the flight was delayed as the project fell behind schedule. On December 29, 2009, Northrop Grumman oversaw towed taxi tests of the aircraft at the Palmdale facility,[10] with the aircraft taxiing under its own power for the first time in January 2010.

An X-47B demonstrator aboard the USS Harry S. Truman in November 2012

Flight testing [edit]

The first flight of the X-47B demonstrator, designated Air Vehicle 1 (AV-1), took place at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on February 4, 2011.[11][12] The aircraft first flew in cruise configuration with its landing gear retracted on September 30, 2011.[13] A second X-47B demonstrator, designated AV-2, conducted its maiden flight at Edwards Air Force Base on November 22, 2011.[14]

The two X-47B demonstrators were planned to have a three-year test program with 50 tests at Edwards AFB and NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, culminating in sea trials in 2013.[15][14] However, the aircraft performed so consistently that the preliminary tests stopped after 16 flights.[16] The aircraft will be used to demonstrate carrier launches and recoveries, as well as autonomous inflight refueling with a probe and drogue. The X-47B has a maximum unrefueled range of over 2,100 nautical miles (3,900 km), and an endurance of more than six hours.[17] In November 2011, the Navy announced that aerial refuelling equipment and software would be added to one of the prototype aircraft in 2014 for testing.[18] The demonstrator aircraft will never be armed.[16]

In 2012, Northrop Grumman tested a wearable remote control system, designed to allow ground crews to steer the X-47B while on the carrier deck.[19] In May 2012, AV-1 began high-intensity electromagnetic interference testing at Patuxent River, to test its compatibility with planned electronic warfare systems.[20] In June 2012, AV-2 arrived at Patuxent River to begin a series of tests, including arrested landings and catapult launches, to validate the ability of the aircraft to conduct precision approaches to an aircraft carrier.[21] The drone's first land-based catapult launch was conducted successfully on 29 November 2012.[22][23]

The X-47B demonstrator prepares to launch from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77)

On 26 November 2012, the X-47B began its carrier-based evaluation aboard the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.[24] On 18 December 2012, the X-47B completed its first at-sea test phase. The system was remarked to have performed "outstandingly", having proved that it was compatible with the flight deck, hangar bays, and communication systems of an aircraft carrier. With deck testing completed, the X-47B demonstrator returned to NAS Patuxent River for further tests, with another carrier deck test planned for mid-2013.[25] On May 4, 2013, the demonstrator successfully performed an arrested landing on a simulated carrier deck at NAS Patuxent River.[26] The Navy launched the X-47B from the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) on the morning of 14 May 2013 in the Atlantic Ocean, the first time that an unmanned drone has been catapulted off an aircraft carrier.[27][28] On 17 May 2013, another first was achieved when the X-47B performed touch-and-go landings and take-offs on the flight deck of the USS George H.W. Bush while underway in the Atlantic Ocean.[29]

Costs [edit]

The project was initially funded under a US$635.8-million contract awarded by the Navy in 2007. However, by January 2012, the X-47B's total program cost had grown to an estimated $813 million.[1]

Variants [edit]

X-47A

Original proof-of-concept prototype with a 19-foot (5.9 m) wingspan, first flown in 2003.

X-47B

Current demonstrator aircraft with a 62-foot (19 m) wingspan, first flown in 2011.

Specifications (X-47B) [edit]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

  • 2 weapon bays, providing for up to 4,500 lb (2,000 kg) of ordnance;[17] The follow-on UCLASS design will use existing weapons – no new ones will be developed for it.[6]

Avionics

  • Provisions for EO/IR/SAR/ISAR/GMTI/MMTI/ESM[17]

See also [edit]

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b "New drone has no pilot anywhere, so who's accountable?" Los Angeles Times. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  2. ^ "U.S. Launches Drone From Aircraft Carrier". Retrieved 2013-05-15. 
  3. ^ [http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=2527 "DARPA And Navy ct Naval UCAV Contractors"]. US Department of Defense. 20 June 2000. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  4. ^ Aviation Week & Space Technology. "Tailless Tailhooker: Autonomous U.S. Navy X-plane flight marks sea change toward unmanned carrier aviation". 14 February 2011. p. 28.
  5. ^ X-47 Pegasus Naval Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV-N), USA. Airforce-Technology.com. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  6. ^ a b Ackerman, Spencer (13 February 2013). "Navy: No New Weapons System on Our Future Carrier-Based Drone". Wired. Retrieved 2013-02-13. 
  7. ^ "US Navy's robot stealth carrier plane unveiled". The Register. 18 December 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  8. ^ "Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems X-47B UCAS overview", Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems
  9. ^ "Photo Release -- Northrop Grumman Reveals First Navy Unmanned Combat Aircraft". Northrop Grumman. December 16, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  10. ^ Morring, Frank (January 11, 2010). "Taxi Tests for UCAS-D". Aviation Week (McGraw-Hill): 15. 
  11. ^ "Northrop UCAS-D Completes First Flight". Aviation Week. February 4, 2011.
  12. ^ "Edwards flight engineers perform first X-47B flight". US Air Force. February 7, 2011.
  13. ^ Roach, John (11 October 2011). "UFO-like drone hits cruise mode". MSNBC. Retrieved 5 January 2013. 
  14. ^ a b "Navy's Second Stealthy X-47B Drone Flies". DefenseTech.org. 28 November 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
  15. ^ "X-47B UCAS". Northrop Grumman. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
  16. ^ a b Dillow, Clay. "I Am Warplane" Popular Science. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  17. ^ a b c "X-47 UCAS-D" (PDF). Northrop Grumman. 5 April 2011. Archived from the original on 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012. 
  18. ^ "Navy to outfit an X-47B prototype with refueling gear". Defense Systems. 7 November 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-09.
  19. ^ "The next step in directing drones: hand signals". Navy Times. 1 April 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
  20. ^ "Electronic Blast Slated for Unmanned Attack Aircraft". Aviation Week. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
  21. ^ ""Beltway UFO" has DC Talking". NBC Washington. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  22. ^ "Navy Preps Killer Drone for First Carrier Launch". Wired. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2012. 
  23. ^ "X-47B Drone Meets the Fleet". Aviation History. March 2013 issue. p. 10.
  24. ^ Taylor DiMartino (26 November 2012). "Truman Hosts X-47B Unmanned Aircraft Demonstrator For Carrier-Based Testing". NNS121126-07. USS Harry S. Truman Public Affairs. Retrieved 2012-12-07. 
  25. ^ "X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Completes First At-Sea Tests". Defense-Aerospace.com. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  26. ^ "Video: The Navy's stealth drone makes its first arrested landing". Foreign Policy. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013. 
  27. ^ "Navy launches unmanned aircraft from deck of aircraft carrier for 1st time". Washington Post. Associated Press. 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2013-05-15. 
  28. ^ "US launches drone from aircraft carrier for first time" (video). BBC News Online. 2013-05-15. Retrieved 2013-05-15. 
  29. ^ Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Brandon Vinson, USN (May 17, 2013). "X-47B Accomplishes First Ever Carrier Touch and Go aboard CVN 77". NNS130517-15. USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) Public Affairs. Retrieved 2013-05-17. "The Navy's X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D) has begun touch and go landing operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) May 17." 
  30. ^ "The Future of Drone Warfare Is Scary". The Atlantic Wire. 6 February 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2013. 
  31. ^ "Northrop Grumman UCAS-D Datasheet". Northrop Grumman. 6 February 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2013. 
  32. ^ "Northrop Grumman UCAS-D Datasheet". Northrop Grumman. 6 February 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2013. 

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