Posted on 05/23/2002 9:17:21 AM PDT by Pharmboy
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) - The Boeing Co.'s X-45, the first robotic plane designed specifically to fly combat missions, has successfully made its maiden flight. The plane, one of two built so far, successfully took off, flew and landed on Wednesday, Boeing said, and was airborne for 14 minutes.
A Thursday press conference was planned to discuss the flight.
The plane was developed by the company's Phantom Works under a contract with the Air Force and the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Squat and tailless with a 36-foot wingspan, the X-45 is mostly flat. An engine intake sits where the cockpit normally would be.
The 8,000-pound craft is designed to carry 3,000 pounds of guided bombs, making it twice as efficient as the typical manned fighter.
Other robotic aircraft, including the Predator in Afghanistan, have been equipped with weapons, but they were originally designed as spy planes.
Air Force officials envision the X-45 taking part in strikes against enemy radar and surface-to-air missile batteries.
Unlike the crewed planes it may replace, the X-45 would be partially autonomous. Its pilot - who may fly several planes at once - would remain on the ground, out of harm's way.
Boeing designed the plane to have a 750-mile range and fly at subsonic speeds. The Air Force would like to store the planes for extended periods and then ship them, at short notice, to regions where they would be needed.
The target cost of each plane is between $10 million and $15 million, or about one-third the cost of next-generation fighter planes.
Those video games the new pilots played back in the 80s and 90s helped them out for this assignment...
Another thing I'm thinking is that the pilots will need a lot of "realism," and that the AF would probably do well to check out some of the internet-based flight re-enactment groups (which they probably have....)
I think that the role seems confused, though. Bombs, guided or not, aren't the most modern way to switch of SAM sites: we all use anti-radiation missiles for that now.
I suppose that the idea might be to disable the sites conventionally and then flatten them with this new craft. Although if that's the case, then the mission is no longer quite so high-risk, and UAVs would seem unnecessary.
No idea. Cool UAV anyway. Anyone remember, years ago, that unmanned vehicles were banned from delivering ordinance? Has that been scrapped?
Andrew
Judging from the way the Predator turned a few groups of Al Quaida and Taleban into chopped sirloin, yeah, that policy does appear to have been scrapped. The aircraft shown in #2 is waaaay cool.
Make sure your boy has the best video game flight simulators (although I bet you already have them) and good luck!
It will say under the wings: "If you can read this, you're effed"
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