Unmanned fighter plane performs first flight

New Scientist ^ | 11:28 24 May 02 | Will Knight

[vannrox]

Unmanned fighter plane performs first flight

11:28 24 May 02

Will Knight

An experimental remote-controlled fighter jet developed by the US military has performed its first test flight.

The flight tested the X-45's flight stability and remote control system. If fully developed, the X-45 would allow fighter pilots to raid enemy targets and engage in airborne combat from the comfort of a base on the ground.

The X-45 reached a speed of 361 km/h (Photo: DARPA)

Colonel Michael Leahy, X-45 program manager at the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), says: "Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAV) will effectively and affordably perform extremely hazardous missions such as the suppression of enemy air defenses while greatly reducing the risk our aircrews have to face."

But unmanned aircraft such as the X-45 would not only make the life of a fighter pilot safer, they would also significantly lower the cost of flying combat missions. On-board pilots require expensive equipment and crewed aircraft spend much of their operational life flying in expensive training exercises.

Cheap shot

An unmanned airplane is cheaper to construct and operators would be largely trained using simulation software. The X-45 could be stored for decades before being used. It is thought each X-45 would cost $15 million, about half that of a typical manned fighter.

A later version of the airplane, called the X-45B, will be designed to carry simulated weapons. The final machine will weigh 3600 kilograms (8000 pounds) and carry 1400 kg (3000 lb) of weaponry. Further flight tests are planned for throughout 2002, including tests involving other aircraft.

Other unmanned fighter planes are in development and smaller remote-controlled military planes have already been fully developed. Slow-flying Predator spy planes fitted with limited weaponry have been used in Afghanistan recently.

The X-45 is 8.2m (27 feet) long, smaller than a typical manned fighter plane and has no tail fin. Its engine is situated where the pilot would sit. During its maiden flight, the X-45 reached an altitude of 2286 metres (7500 feet) and a maximum air speed of 361 km/h (195 knots). The airplane has been developed by DARPA, Boeing and the US Air Force.

11:28 24 May 02

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[vannrox]

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[Southack]

Robot swarms. We're there. Unmanned aircraft carrying air to air and air to ground missiles, flying in formations of thousands.

That's what our enemies will be facing in the future. The world simply can't comprehend how far we are ahead of them...

[PatrioticAmerican]

"each X-45 would cost $15 million, about half that of a typical manned fighter"

Actually, given the F-22's $200 million price tag, $15 million is a bargain, not to mention the huge savings from not training pilots.

[Fish out of Water]

*Index Bump

[Grut]

Back in my crew dog days, we used to claim we were the only professionals who still made house calls. *Sigh*. No more.

[StriperSniper]

not to mention the huge savings from not training pilots.

Now they can just give out Playstations with the 'special' software. ;-)

[Hunble]

Just remember, a lowly Cessna 182 was able to fly into Russian airspace during the cold war and land in Red Square. There was nothing Russia could do about it, because it was flying too low and slow.

How many low cost unmanned fighters could we build for the same amount of money? Since they are unmanned, who cares if 9 out of 10 get shot down? That 10th one will achieve the objective.

[pabianice]

>>The flight tested the X-45's flight stability and remote control system. If fully developed, the X-45 would allow fighter pilots to raid enemy targets and engage in airborne combat from the comfort of a base on the ground.

We flight navigators were obsoleted for point-to-point nav in the 80s and 90s. Fighter pilots are about to be obsoleted by such as the X-45, and the fight to defund UAVs and save cockpits for pilots is going to be a huge bloodbath, with the pilots losing eventually.

[jrewingjr]

Playstations with the 'special' software

Reminds me of a movie in which aliens placed video games on earth and recruited the high scorer to be a real life space fighter pilot to help defend them. I can't remember its name though.

[StriperSniper]

Do you mean 'The Last Starfighter'?

[avg_freeper]

"That's what our enemies will be facing in the future. The world simply can't comprehend how far we are ahead of them... "

Take some dynamite, rig it to cheap switch, hide it under your shirt, blow your self up around lots of other people. All you need is a nearly limitless supply of patsies.

I know what you're saying, but I bet our enemies say the same about us.

[rmlew]

I though the X-45 was a bomber. When did it get designed for air to air combat?

As for pilots, until we get instantatnoius secure and consant transmission to UCAVs, we will need pilots to make split-second decisions.

[Mr Rogers]

Someone on drugs wrote this story. A drone fighter plane is not a fighter plane, since it cannot make the decisions needed for success in either air-ground or air-air roles. Flight simulators are no substitute for actual flight for dropping bombs or air combat. And we are years away from having the secure, jam proof data links to control aircraft real time.

The jump to UCAVs will be more challenging than the advances we've made since 1958 (the year the F-4 first flew, I believe, as well as my birth). It is the future, but not until we can data link the human in real time to visual simulation - and that is a long ways away.

[Southack]

"I know what you're saying, but I bet our enemies say the same about us."

No, our enemies are forever trying to copy us when they can manage it. A few managed to obtain our 55 year old nuclear technology, but clearly very few have even gotten that far (although they all want it). Fewer still managed to orbit satellites (something that we've been doing for well over 40 years), though they all want to do it.

Even fewer still have managed to orbit men. None of the others managed to land a man on the Moon, something that we accomplished over three decades ago (and I can assure you that people who use the Crescent Moon as their symbol would kill to put even a martyr on the Moon, much less a living man).

They want our fighter jets. They want our tanks. They want our helicopters. They want our computers. They want our software. They want our missiles. They want our nukes. They want our lasers.

In short, they want what we have. They always have. They always will. So they aren't saying the same thing about us. We don't want to immitate their suicide bombers, and they know it.

[UofHoustonRepublican]

"No, our enemies are forever trying to copy us when they can manage it."

Isn't that the truth! But, I everytime I think this to myself, I can't help but wonder about all those Russian Su-27, Su-35 jets and so forth. They claim to have the f-15, f-22, and f-35/jsf cornered. I've never seen them in action so I wouldn't know, methinks our missles make up for whatever better aspects these Russian jets hold, but you still don't know for sure. Of course the Russians aren't looking like bad guys at the moment, but they sure sell to our enemies(China being the biggest).

Oh well, at least these countries will never be able to copy our country fried steak! So hah!

[jrewingjr]

That's the one.

[Centurion2000]

, I can't help but wonder about all those Russian Su-27, Su-35 jets and so forth. They claim to have the f-15, f-22, and f-35/jsf cornered. I've never seen them in action so I wouldn't know, methinks our missles make up for whatever better aspects these Russian jets hold, but you still don't know for sure

When they can build the UCAV to take 20-30 G turns (already on the drawing board at least) those fancy new Russian and Chinese fighters will be in deep s^&t when one of these new guys runs a missile right up their tails. UCAV's could turn tight enough to make gun solutions an ideal option.