Posted on 08/06/2007 1:23:34 PM PDT by BenLurkin
PALMDALE - The Navy has awarded a $635.8 million contract to Northrop Grumman Corp. to build a revolutionary pilotless combat plane at the company's facility at Air Force Plant 42. The plane, called the X-47B, will be designed to fly from aircraft carriers and carry out bombing missions and perform extended surveillance. It will use stealth technology designed to make it hard to spot on radar.
The six-year contract is part of a Navy program, known as the Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration, or UCAS-D, to establish the capability of such a robot plane. Northrop Grumman tested the smaller X-47A in 2003.
"The UCAS-D award is the culmination of several years of effort with the Navy to show the benefit of melding the capabilities of a survivable, persistent, long-range UCAS with those of the aircraft carrier," said Gary Ervin, vice president for Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems Western Region sector. "The UCAS-D program will reduce the risk of eventual integration of unmanned air systems into carrier environments."
Northrop Grumman initially will build two planes for the Navy. The first is scheduled to fly in late 2009.
The first carrier landings are planned for late 2011, with follow-on analysis and program completion by 2013.
Northrop Grumman already has experience in robot planes, such as the Fire Scout vertical takeoff and landing tactical unmanned system for use in land combat.The Global Hawk robot spy plane currently is being built at the Northrop plant at Palmdale.
Such planes not only save pilots from being sent into danger but also from the tedium of long surveillance missions.
According to the company Web site, the X-47B will be a carrier-capable, multi-mission, unmanned combat aircraft capable of a variety of missions.
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(Excerpt) Read more at avpress.com ...
"The Navy has awarded a $635.8 million contract to Northrop Grumman Corp. to build a pilotless combat plane, called the X-47B, at the company's facility at Air Force Plant 42. The plane is part of the Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration program, which was developed out of the former Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems program. Above is a rendering of a J-UCAS plane launching from an aircraft carrier." Northrop Grumman Corp.
How long will it take the Dems to say this may save some pilots but it increases the carbon footprint of the Navy by being able to stay up longer. This must be stopped - this plane makes too much sense and might increase the U.S. defense capabilities while lowering costs associated and increase the flight/benefit ratio.
X-47B Pegasus
2 years ago
Northrop Grumman Starts Construction Of Its X-47B J-UCAS UAV
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/uav-05zv.html
Bombs Away!!!
Looks like a Cylon fighter.
YA, but can it say, “I’ll be back”?
Didn’t the Marine Corps try out an essentially “pilotless plane” in the Harrier...???
Maybe they had so many ejection over the years that’s just the way it seems...
Just remember, when the major ground campaigned finished after 21 days of combat Newsweek proclaimed this was only possible because of “Clinton's Army.” Everything following is Bush’s fault!
Oh, this is great. Now we’ll get to listen to artifical intelligences bragging about how hard it is to land on a carrier.
Then again, that will be a step up, compared to what we have to listen to today.
//running//
I’m sure they’ll just dust-off their ill-fated A-12 and sell it...pilotless...to the rustpickers as something new and different.
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I'm pretty sure I would not want to mess with one, especially being flown by a kid with 30,000 hours of video game experience.
“Title should be Navy pisses away $635.8 million plus 1 billion in over runs. The air force has already developed a plane, why not use it instead of more development money thrown away.”
You could be correct about the Navy pissing away all that money but it won’t be because the AF has already developed a plane.
There have only been rare occasions where one aircraft could properly serve both the AF and Navy. The F-4, being one.
I have this feeling that this project needs to be rushed...
sweet. unmanned aircraft could take off and land on shorter runways. This could make for smaller aircraft carriers. It will certainly change aircraft carriers in some way.
The aircraft has to have two engines and a sturdy landing gear to take the “controlled crash” of a carrier landing.
The Super Hornet does not have very long legs.
If I’m the Navy and I see new aircraft like the Reaper UAV being deployed, I start to wonder if I’m becoming obsolete.
No, the Reaper is not a jet but does it need to be? It can carry 8? Hellfires, 2 500lb. GBU’s and fly for some 20 hours at 50K feet? The Navy can’t keep weapons over the battlefield like that.
I think the Navy is trying to go a step beyond the Predator and current piloted attack aircraft.
I hope they don’t use this as an excuse to cut back on piloted fighter planes though. I want more of both. More aircraft carriers too. More of everything.
One problem with the Reaper/Predator/Hunter/Global Hawk/any other current UAV is that they are SAM sumps. They aren’t very stealthy, certainly aren’t maneuverable and are easy kills for rudimentary weapons.
The Navy has been heavy duty in the UCAV program since its inception. I don’t think this is an attempt at relevance; the Nav will always have a leg up on the Air Force when it comes to being able to provide sustained power projection. UCAV’s will only make the Navy more prominent.
NGC BUMP
Plenty of past exceptions to that absolutism and the F-35C has only one engine.
Take the current situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, for example. We just deployed a number of Reapers. They can remain over the battlefield 24/7, with weapons, and with very little threat to them. Why fly an F-18 to the area to remain on station for 2 hours? You don’t think the Navy looks at that and gets nervous about being left out? The Navy does not have a leg up, at the moment.
Don’t get me wrong, I think the Navy is going in the right direction with this. I like the concept. I was just theorizing about their motivation.
Unlike the Reaper, the UCAV will play a major role in establishing that initial air dominance. I see it having many more mission capabilities than a Reaper type UAV.
Yep. A-4, F-8, A-7, and more.
SO did northrop. Boeings plane was built for the Airforce. It did not demonstrate arrested landing on a moving carrier deck. And Northrops plane flew well before boeings.
The next model will be a jet. The USAF has also ordered two versions of Predator B with turbofan jet engines, to be known as Predator C. First flight of the Predator C is expected in 2009.
Plus, much of what Naval aviation does is to patrol. Combat Air Patrol. Anti-sub patrol. And if it gets shot down, well, that's a valuable piece of information -- that there's something hostile out there
You obviously have seen the size of the aircraft they are building. you may see pics of it in production at northrops website. In addition to carrier landing, it will demonstrate aerial refueling weapons release. Not hellfire size missiles.
Does not change one thing. I do not think that it is needed. And it is a double procurement waste of tax payers money. The air force is building a light attack surveillance platform which is cheap and reliable. The navy wants a Mercedes super heavy fighter bomber surveillance, that does not have a pilot, and that will cost millions and millions per copy
Not to mention that it’s maneuverability will be limited by the endurance of its electronics rather than that of the pilot.
No one is going to turn inside of a fighter that can pull 20 G’s without batting an eye.
Kewl, I didn’t know Free Republic had it’s own F-4s!
They were like huge hulking beasts compared to our A-4s.
VMA-223 Chu Lai RVN ‘66-67-68’
We tried to get some F-14's but the Navy insisted on crushing them instead.
The F-4 is to the A-4 as a dragster is to a Corvair I'm not dissing the Skyhawk, the Corvair is loads of fun to drive and has a surprising amount of trunk space but isn't noted for acceleration or top end, kind of like the A-4.
Then I guess the Navy has changed its policy since I left. I thought it was a prerequisite for all carrier planes.
Agreed!
They are designed for completely different missions. The AF predators are for surveilance and light attack. The navy birds will be designed for multirole missions such as attack on air defense and heavily defended targets lessening the risk to piloted aircraft. The AF x45 a/c were being desinged for similar missions as the navy a/c. Predators can’t do it.
Heinemann’s Hot Rod was no slouch and handed a lot of Phantom II and Tomcat jocks their lunch at Top Gun.
Try this thought experiment. We're racing a rail and a Corvair. You pick who gets which, I'll pick the track. If I'm in the rail, count on a straight. If it's the Corvair, twisting won't even begin to cover it.
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