Military Industrial Complex & Attack of the Drones
Bat-winged Drone Bomber in Test Flight: U.S. Navy
February 6, 2011AFP – A robotic, bat-winged bomber designed to take off from a US aircraft carrier has passed its first test in a debut flight in California, the US Navy said.
The X-47B jet, which looks like a smaller version of the B-2 stealth bomber, stayed in the air for 29 minutes and climbed to 5,000 feet in a test flight on Friday at Edwards Air Force Base,
according to the Navy and defense contractor Northrop Grumman. Military leaders see the plane as part of a new generation of drones that would be able to evade radar and fly at much faster speeds than the current fleet of propeller-driven Predators and Reapers used in the war in Afghanistan."Today we got a glimpse towards the future as the Navy?s first-ever tailless, jet-powered unmanned aircraft took to the skies," Captain Jaime Engdahl, a program manager for the warplane, said in a statement.
Northrop is building the navy bomber under a $636 million contract awarded in 2007.
With no pilot on board, the experimental aircraft was operated by a joint Navy and Northrop team on the ground.
The plane "flew a racetrack pattern over the dry lakebed with standard-rate turns," the Navy said.
It will be years before the X-47B joins the naval air fleet, with the first tests on a carrier scheduled for 2013, Northrop said in a release.
Northrop's X-47B Robotic Jet Makes First Flight from Edwards Air Force Base
February 4, 2011
Los Angeles Times - A bat-winged robotic jet resembling a miniature B-2 stealth bomber flew for the first time at Edwards Air Force Base in a test flight that could mark a new age in naval aviation.
Century City-based Northrop Grumman Corp.’s experimental drone, dubbed X-47B, climbed to 5,000 feet in a 29-minute flight on Friday, the U.S. Navy said in a statement.
The X-47B is being developed to take off from an aircraft carrier, drop a bomb on an enemy target and then land back on a carrier, all without a pilot.
"Today we got a glimpse towards the future as the Navy’s first-ever tailless, jet-powered unmanned aircraft took to the skies," said Capt. Jaime Engdahl, X-47B program manager, in a statement.
The drone was built behind a barbed-wire fences and double security doors at Northrop's expansive facility in Palmdale under a $635.8-million contract awarded by the Navy in 2007. The drone marks a major shift from existing robotic aircraft.
Currently, combat drones are controlled remotely by a human pilot. The X-47B could carry out a combat mission controlled entirely by a computer. A human pilot designs a flight path and sends it on its way and a computer program guides it from a ship to target and back.
In 100 years of naval aviation, only experienced pilots have performed the difficult task of landing a fighter on an aircraft carrier in the ocean.
The X-47B is designed to fly farther and stay in the air longer than existing aircraft because it does not depend on a human pilot's endurance. Navy fighter pilots may fly missions that last up to 10 hours. Current drones can fly for three times that long.
The Navy and Northrop plan on continuing test flights throughout the year at Edwards.The X-47B is designed to fly at 40,000 feet at speeds of more than 500 miles per hour.
It will first undergo about 50 flights at Edwards,the Navy said. The first aircraft will complete its initial testing in late 2011. A second aircraft will begin testing shortly thereafter.
"We are breaking new ground by developing the first unmanned jet aircraft to take off and land aboard a flight deck," said Navy Rear Adm. Bill Shannon, program executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons. "This demonstration program is intended to reduce risk for potential future unmanned systems operating in and around aircraft carriers."
Drone Planes Becoming Speedier, Deadlier
An experimental spy plane might herald a new era in modern warfare.January 16, 2011
Los Angeles Times - An experimental spy plane with a wingspan almost the size of a Boeing 747's took to the skies over the Mojave Desert this month in a secret test flight that might herald a new era in modern warfare with robotic planes flying higher, faster and with more firepower.
The massive Global Observer built by AeroVironment Inc. of Monrovia, Calif., is capable of flying for days at a stratosphere-skimming 65,000 feet, out of range of most anti-aircraft missiles.
The plane is built to survey 280,000 square miles — an area larger than Afghanistan — at a single glance. That would give the Pentagon an "unblinking eye" over the war zone and offer a cheaper and more effective alternative to spy satellites watching from outer space.
The estimated $30 million robotic aircraft is one of three revolutionary drones being tested in coming weeks at California's Edwards Air Force Base.
Another is the bat-winged X-47B drone built by Northrop Grumman Corp., which could carry laser-guided bombs and be launched from an aircraft carrier.
The third is the Boeing Co.'s Phantom Ray drone that could slip behind enemy lines to knock out radar installations, clearing the way for fighters and bombers.
These aircraft would represent a major technological advance over the Predator and Reaper drones that have become a central element of the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan. Unlike most of the current fleet of more than 7,000 drones, the new remotely piloted planes will have jet engines and the ability to evade enemy radar.
"We are looking at the next generation of unmanned systems," said Phil Finnegan, an aerospace expert with Teal Group, a research firm. "As the U.S. looks at potential future conflicts, there needs to be more capable systems."
Finnegan pointed out that propeller-driven Predator and Reaper drones aren't fast or stealthy enough to thread through anti-aircraft missile batteries. Boeing's Phantom Ray and Northrop's X-47B, by comparison, "can enter contested airspace, attack the enemy and leave without detection on a radar screen," he said.
The Global Observer is designed for reconnaissance and would not carry weapons, but it would greatly extend the surveillance capabilities of drones. Current spy planes can stay airborne for about 30 hours. The Global Observer is designed to beat that mark several times over, flying up to a week at a time, and company officials say it could be ready to go into service by year's end.
The drone is designed to do the work that so far has been done by satellites, including relaying communications between military units and spotting missiles as they are launched.
The Global Observer performed its first test on Jan. 6 that demonstrated its ability to use liquid hydrogen as fuel.
The drone circled above Edwards at about 3,000 feet above ground level in a four-hour test, according to AeroVironment executives.
"This is a paradigm shift from capabilities that have come before," said Timothy Conver, AeroVironment's chairman and chief executive. "It's so radically different that it's hard for people to wrap their minds around it."
The Pentagon has increasingly focused on drones because they reduce the risk of American casualties and because they can be operated for a fraction of the cost of piloted aircraft.
Los Angeles-based Northrop is building the X-47B drone at Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., under a $635.8 million contract awarded by the Navy in 2007.
Currently, combat drones are controlled remotely by a human pilot. With the X-47B, which resembles a miniature version of the B-2 stealth bomber, a human pilot designs a flight path and sends it on its way; a computer program would guide it from a ship to target and back.
"The X-47B represents game-changing technology that will allow American forces to project combat power from longer distances without putting humans in harm's way," said Paul Meyer, general manager of Northrop's Advanced Programs & Technology division.
Boeing's stealth Phantom Ray is being built in St. Louis. The company doesn't have a contract; it is developing the drone at its own expense.
These aircraft might be several years away from service, but defense industry analysts say there is little doubt that they represent the wave of the future.
"We're entering an era that's similar to the jet age for aviation," said defense expert Peter Singer, author of "Wired for War," a book about robotic warfare.
"These are capabilities that have never been fielded. The tests will point us in the direction of where we head next."
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