The Northrop Grumman X-47B is a
demonstration unmanned combat aerial vehicle
An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, colloquially shortened as drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance ...
(UCAV) designed for
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
-based operations. Developed by the American defense technology company
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...
, the X-47 project began as part of
DARPA
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.
Originally known as the Adv ...
's
J-UCAS program, and subsequently became part of the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
's
Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) program. The X-47B is a tailless
jet-powered
blended-wing-body aircraft capable of semi-autonomous operation and
aerial refueling
Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft a ...
.
The X-47B first flew in 2011, and , its two active demonstrators have undergone extensive flight and operational integration testing, having successfully performed a series of land- and carrier-based demonstrations.
[ In August 2014, the US Navy announced that it had integrated the X-47B into carrier operations alongside manned aircraft, and by May 2015 the primary test program was declared complete.] 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.
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 Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
and Northrop Grumman for a 15-month concept-exploration program. Design considerations for a naval UCAV included dealing with the corrosive saltwater
Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, ...
environment, deck handling for launch and recovery, command and control system integration, and operation in an aircraft carrier's high-electromagnetic
In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of a ...
-interference environment. The Navy was interested in using UCAVs for reconnaissance, to penetrate protected airspace and identify targets for follow-on attacks.
Northrop Grumman's proof-of-concept X-47A Pegasus
The Northrop Grumman X-47 is a demonstration unmanned combat aerial vehicle. The X-47 began as part of DARPA's J-UCAS program, and is now part of the United States Navy's UCAS-D program to create a carrier-based unmanned aircraft. Unlike the B ...
, which provided the basis for the X-47B, first flew in 2003. The J-UCAS program was terminated in February 2006 following the Quadrennial Defense Review
The Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) was a study by the United States Department of Defense that analyzes strategic objectives and potential military threats. The ''Quadrennial Defense Review Report'' was the main public document describing the Uni ...
. 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. To provide realistic testing, the demonstrator was built to be the same size and weight as the projected operational craft, with a full-sized weapons bay capable of carrying existing missiles.
The X-47B prototype rolled out from Air Force Plant 42
United States Air Force Plant 42 is a classified aircraft manufacturing plant owned by the United States Air Force in the Antelope Valley, about from downtown Los Angeles. It is also used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (N ...
in Palmdale, California
Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The city lies in the Antelope Valley region of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south.
On Aug ...
, on 16 December 2008. Its first flight was planned for November 2009, but the project fell behind schedule. On 29 December 2009, Northrop Grumman oversaw towed taxi tests of the aircraft at the Palmdale facility, with it taxiing under its own power for the first time in January 2010.
Flight testing
The first flight of the X-47B demonstrator, designated Air Vehicle 1 (AV-1), took place at Edwards Air Force Base, California
Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
, on 4 February 2011.
It first flew in cruise configuration with its landing gear retracted on 30 September 2011. A second X-47B demonstrator, designated AV-2, conducted its maiden flight at Edwards Air Force Base on 22 November 2011.["Navy's Second Stealthy X-47B Drone Flies"]
DefenseTech.org. 28 November 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
The two X-47Bs were initially 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.[ However, they performed so consistently that preliminary tests ended after 16 flights.][Dillow, Clay]
"I Am Warplane"
''Popular Science
''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...
''. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012. The Navy decided to have them demonstrate carrier launches and recoveries, as well as autonomous inflight refueling
Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft a ...
with a probe and drogue
Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft a ...
. In November 2011, the Navy announced that aerial refuelling equipment and software would be added to one X-47B in 2014 for testing; they also affirmed that the demonstrators would never be armed.[ 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.
In May 2012, AV-1 began high-intensity ]electromagnetic interference
Electromagnetic interference (EMI), also called radio-frequency interference (RFI) when in the radio frequency spectrum, is a disturbance generated by an external source that affects an electrical circuit by electromagnetic induction, electros ...
testing at Patuxent River, to test compatibility with planned electronic warfare
Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...
systems. In June 2012, AV-2 arrived at Patuxent River to begin a series of tests, including arrested landings and catapult launches, to validate its ability to conduct precision approaches to an aircraft carrier. Its first land-based catapult launch was conducted successfully on 29 November 2012.
On 26 November 2012, the X-47B began its carrier-based evaluation aboard the at Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hamp ...
, Virginia. On 18 December 2012, the X-47B completed its first at-sea test phase; it was remarked to have performed "outstandingly", having proved compatible with the flight deck
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters ...
, hangar bays, and communication systems of an aircraft carrier. With deck testing completed, the X-47B returned to NAS Patuxent River for further tests. On 4 May 2013, it successfully performed an arrested landing on a simulated carrier deck at Patuxent River. The X-47B launched from the on 14 May 2013 in the Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
, marking the first time that a UAV was catapulted off an aircraft carrier. On 17 May 2013, another first was achieved when it performed touch-and-go landings and take-offs from ''George H.W. Bush'' while underway.
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. It subsequently completed a second successful arrested landing on ''George H.W. Bush'', but a third attempt was diverted to the Wallops Flight Facility
Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) is a rocket launch site on Wallops Island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, United States, just east of the Delmarva Peninsula and approximately north-northeast of Norfolk. The facility is operated by the Goddard ...
in Virginia due to a technical issue. 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.
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.[ 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.][ The Navy continued flying the two X-47Bs through 2014, after it was criticised for prematurely retiring them. 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.
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 November 2013, testing continued on board the . During this phase, the X-47B's digitized carrier-controlled environment was tested, such as between the UAV and carrier personnel during launching, recovering, and flight operations. Trials on ''Theodore Roosevelt'' in 2014 were intended to test the UAV's ability to swiftly take off, land, and hold in a pattern among manned aircraft without disrupting carrier operations. It also used a jet-blast deflector on deck for the first time, enabling takeoff without impacting operations behind it.
On 10 April 2014, the X-47B performed its first night flight. On 17 August 2014, it took off and landed on ''Theodore Roosevelt'' alongside an ]F/A-18 Hornet
The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twinjet, twin-engine, supersonic aircraft, supersonic, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, ...
, marking the first time a UAV operated in conjunction with manned aircraft aboard an aircraft carrier. The Hornet launched from the carrier, followed by the X-47B. After a brief flight, the X-47B touched down and immediately took off again to verify system behavior. After 24 minutes, the X-47B landed on the flight deck and taxied away to give the Hornet room to land. The demonstration met all test objectives, and marked the X-47B's fifth test period at sea, having completed eight catapult launches from a carrier, 30 touch-and-goes, and seven arrested landings aboard ''George H.W. Bush'' and ''Theodore Roosevelt''. Testing was successfully completed on 24 August 2014, with the X-47B completing five catapult launches, four arrestments, and nine touch-and-go landings; nighttime taxi and deckhandling operations were also performed for the first time. It met its objective of performing launches and recoveries at 90-second intervals with manned Hornets. In April 2015, the X-47B successfully conducted the world's first fully autonomous aerial refuelling with an Omega Air KC-707 tanker over the coast of Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
.[ This marked the completion of all primary demonstration tasks required of it.][
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 MQ-25 Stingray carrier-based aerial refuelling system (CBARS).
]
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.["New drone has no pilot anywhere, so who's accountable?"]
''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
''. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 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
A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
. However, in June 2014 the Navy provided an additional $63 million for "post-demonstration" development of the X-47B.
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.[ 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.][ In April 2015, it was reported that the X-47B demonstrators would become museum exhibits upon completing flight testing.][ In June 2015, ]United States Secretary of the Navy
The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States D ...
Ray Mabus
Raymond Edwin Mabus Jr. (; born October 11, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2017. Mabus previously served as the State Auditor ...
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. 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.[
In January 2017, the first X-47B departed NAS Patuxent River, Md. for Northrop Grumman's manufacturing plant in Palmdale, Calif. In August 2017, Aviation Week published photos of a modified X-47B as a testbed for Northrop Grumman's ]MQ-25
The Boeing MQ-25 Stingray is an aerial refueling drone that resulted from the Carrier-Based Aerial-Refueling System (CBARS) program, which grew out of the earlier Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program. The ...
bid.
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. 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 ''Aviation Week
''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aerospace, defense and aviati ...
''. On 9 April 2014, the National Aeronautic Association
The National Aeronautic Association of the United States (NAA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and a founding member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).
Founded in 1905, it is the oldest national aviation club in the Uni ...
selected Northrop Grumman, the United States Navy, and the X-47B's development team as the joint recipients of the 2013 Collier Trophy
The Robert J. Collier Trophy is an annual aviation award administered by the U.S. National Aeronautic Association (NAA), presented to those who have made "the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to im ...
for excellence in aeronautic technology.
Derivative development
The Navy used software from the X-47B to demonstrate unmanned aerial refueling capabilities. On 28 August 2013, a contractor-flown Learjet 25
The Learjet 25 is an American ten-seat (two crew and eight passengers), twin-engine, high-speed business jet aircraft manufactured by Learjet. It is a stretched version of the Learjet 24.
Development
The first Model 25 flew on August 12, 196 ...
refueled from a Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
tanker while flying autonomously as a surrogate aircraft uploaded with the X-47B's technology.[ 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.] Plans to further demonstrate autonomous aerial refueling were reportedly cut in the Navy's fiscal 2014 budget, but the X-47B nonetheless conducted a successful autonomous refuelling demonstration in April 2015.[
]
Variants
; X-47A
Original proof-of-concept prototype with a wingspan, first flown in 2003.
;X-47B
Demonstrator aircraft with a wingspan, first flown in 2011.
; X-47C
Proposed larger version intended for the Navy's UCLASS
The Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) was a United States Navy program to develop an autonomous carrier-based unmanned combat aerial vehicle providing an unmanned intelligence and strike asset to the fleet. Aft ...
project.
Specifications (X-47B)
See also
References
External links
X-47B UCAS page
an
media gallery on NorthropGrumman.com
The Future of Things. 20 January 2009.
"Could we trust killer robots?"
''Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''. 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
''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...
''. 5 July 2012.
"X-47B stealth drone targets new frontiers"
BBC Future. 19 December 2012.
{{Stealth aircraft
Stealth aircraft
X-047B
2010s United States experimental aircraft
Unmanned military aircraft of the United States
Single-engined jet aircraft
Blended wing body
Tailless aircraft
Carrier-based aircraft
Unmanned stealth aircraft
Scaled Composites
DARPA
Edwards Air Force Base
Articles containing video clips
Aircraft first flown in 2011