Northrop Grumman X-47B
X-47B UCAS-D | |
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An X-47B demonstrator over the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Test Range
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Role |
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National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | Northrop Grumman |
First flight | 4 February 2011 |
Status | Active |
Primary user | United States Navy |
Number built | 2 |
Developed from | Northrop Grumman X-47A Pegasus |
Developed into | Northrop Grumman X-47C |
The Northrop Grumman X-47B is a
The X-47B first flew in 2011, and as of 2015[update], its two active demonstrators have undergone extensive flight and operational integration testing, having successfully performed a series of land- and carrier-based demonstrations.[2][3] In August 2014, the US Navy announced that it had integrated the X-47B into carrier operations alongside manned aircraft,[4] and by May 2015 the primary test program was declared complete.[5][6][7] The X-47B demonstrators themselves were intended to become museum exhibits after completing flight testing, but the Navy later decided to maintain them in flying condition pending further development.[8][9]
Design and development
Origins
The US Navy did not commit to practical UCAS efforts until 2000, when it awarded contracts of US$2 million each to
Flight testing
The first flight of the X-47B demonstrator, designated Air Vehicle 1 (AV-1), took place at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on 4 February 2011.[17][18] It first flew in cruise configuration with its landing gear retracted on 30 September 2011.[19] A second X-47B demonstrator, designated AV-2, conducted its maiden flight at Edwards Air Force Base on 22 November 2011.[20]
The two X-47Bs were initially planned to have a three-year test program with 50 tests at Edwards AFB and
In May 2012, AV-1 began high-intensity
On 26 November 2012, the X-47B began its carrier-based evaluation aboard the
On 10 July 2013, the X-47B launched from Patuxent River and landed on the deck of George H.W. Bush, conducting the first ever arrested landing of a UAV on a carrier at sea.[3] It subsequently completed a second successful arrested landing on George H.W. Bush, but a third attempt was diverted to the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia due to a technical issue.[35] One of the UAV's three navigational sub-systems failed, which was identified by the other two sub-systems and indicated to the operator, who followed procedures to abort the landing. The Navy stated that the problem's detection demonstrated the X-47B's reliability and ability to operate autonomously.[36]
On 15 July 2013, the second X-47B, designated 501, was forced to abort another planned landing on George H.W. Bush due to technical issues.[37][38] Officials asserted that the program only required one successful at-sea landing, though testers were aiming for three, while two out of four were achieved.[38] The Navy continued flying the two X-47Bs through 2014, after it was criticised for prematurely retiring them.[39] The Navy subsequently deployed the X-47Bs to carriers for three further test phases between 2013 and 2015, with the intent of demonstrating that UAVs could seamlessly work with a 70-plane carrier air wing.[40]
On 18 September 2013, the X-47B flew the 100th flight for the UCAS-D program. The program objectives were completed in July, which included a total of 16 precision approaches to the carrier flight deck, including five tests of wave-off functions, nine touch-and-go landings, two arrested landings, and three catapult launches.
On 10 April 2014, the X-47B performed its first night flight.
In February 2016, the Navy decided to repurpose the X-47B from a surveillance and strike aircraft into a reconnaissance and aerial refuelling drone with "limited strike capability". The change followed a top-level review and restructuring of the now-defunct unmanned carrier-launched airborne surveillance and strike (UCLASS) project, with later budgets instead funding the
Costs
The project was initially funded under a US$635.8 million contract awarded by the Navy in 2007. By January 2012, the X-47B's total program cost had grown to an estimated $813 million.[49] Government funding for the X-47B UCAS-D program was to run out at the end of September 2013, with the close of the fiscal year.[38] However, in June 2014 the Navy provided an additional $63 million for "post-demonstration" development of the X-47B.[50]
End of program
In February 2015, the Navy stated that the competition for private tenders for constructing the UCLASS fleet would begin in 2016, with the aircraft expected to enter service in the early 2020s.[7] Reportedly, despite the X-47B's success in test flights, officials were concerned that it would be too costly and insufficiently stealthy for the needs of the UCLASS project.[7] In April 2015, it was reported that the X-47B demonstrators would become museum exhibits upon completing flight testing.[8][51] In June 2015, United States Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus stated that the X-47B program should continue but that Northrop-Grumman should not gain an unfair advantage in the competition for the UCLASS contract.[52] In July 2015, the Navy stated that the X-47Bs would remain in flying condition rather than being converted to museum exhibits, allowing for a variety of follow-on evaluations.[9]
In January 2017, the first X-47B departed NAS Patuxent River, Md. for Northrop Grumman's manufacturing plant in Palmdale, Calif.[53] In August 2017, Aviation Week published photos of a modified X-47B as a testbed for Northrop Grumman's MQ-25 bid. [54] On 25 October 2017, the company announced its withdrawal from the MQ-25 competition, saying it would be unable to operate under the terms of the service's request for proposals.[55] A modified Deck Handling System demonstration was planned, but efforts were suspended. One X-47B performed a required upkeep static engine run in spring 2019. The other remained stored in a hangar. The older X-47A Pegasus Air Vehicle was also kept in a covered open air hangar at Palmdale. The general public can not enter the Palmdale facility.
Awards
In March 2014, the X-47B won the 57th Annual Laureate Award for "extraordinary achievements" in aeronautics and propulsion hosted by
Derivative development
The Navy used software from the X-47B to demonstrate unmanned aerial refueling capabilities. On 28 August 2013, a Calspan-flown Learjet 25 refueled from a Boeing 707 tanker while flying autonomously as a surrogate aircraft uploaded with the X-47B's technology.[58] The test was to demonstrate that unmanned and optionally manned aircraft can have an automated aerial refueling capability, significantly increasing their range, persistence, and flexibility.[58] Plans to further demonstrate autonomous aerial refueling were reportedly cut in the Navy's fiscal 2014 budget,[59] but the X-47B nonetheless conducted a successful autonomous refuelling demonstration in April 2015.[1]
Variants
Original proof-of-concept prototype with a 27.8-foot (8.5 m) wingspan, first flown in 2003.
- X-47B
Demonstrator aircraft with a 62-foot (19 m) wingspan, first flown in 2011.
Proposed larger version intended for the Navy's
Specifications (X-47B)
General characteristics
- Crew: None aboard (semi-autonomous operation)
- Length: 38 ft 2 in (11.63 m)
- Wingspan: 62.1 ft (18.9 m) extended; 30.9 ft (9.4 m) folded [61]
- Height: 10 ft 5 in (3.10 m)
- Wing area: 953.6 sq ft (88.59 m2)
- Empty weight: 28,837 lb (13,080 kg) zero fuel weight [60]
- Max takeoff weight: 44,501 lb (20,185 kg) [60]
- Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney F100-220U turbofan
Performance
- Range: 2,400 mi (3,900 km, 2,100 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 42,000 ft (12,800 m)
- Cruise speed: Mach 0.9+ (high subsonic)[63][64]
Armament
- 2 weapon bays, providing for up to 4,500 lb (2,000 kg) of ordnance[62]
Avionics
- Provisions for EO/IR/SAR/ISAR/GMTI/MMTI/ESM[62]
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- BAE Taranis
- Boeing MQ-25 Stingray
- Boeing X-45
- CASC CH-7
- Dassault nEUROn
- EADS Barracuda
- General Atomics Avenger
- Lockheed Martin Polecat
- McDonnell Douglas X-36
- Northrop Grumman RQ-180
- Mikoyan Skat
- Sukhoi Okhotnik
Related lists
- List of experimental aircraft
- List of UAVs
References
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{{cite web}}
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The aircraft developed technical issues while in flight from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., to the ship and officials decided to abort the attempt before the X-47B reached the vicinity of the carrier, steaming off the U.S. east coast.
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External links
External videos | |
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Video of X-47B land catapult launch | |
Video of X-47B carrier catapult launch |
- X-47B UCAS page Archived 28 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine and media gallery on NorthropGrumman.com Archived 2 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- "X-47B – First Navy Stealth UAV Ready". The Future of Things. 20 January 2009.
- "Could we trust killer robots?". Wall Street Journal. 19 May 2012.
- "I Am Warplane: How the first autonomous strike plane will land on aircraft carriers, navigate hostile airspace and change the future of flight". Popular Science. 5 July 2012.
- "X-47B stealth drone targets new frontiers". BBC Future. 19 December 2012.