Test Flight of X-47B Unmanned Fighter a Success Say US Navy

The sub-sonic aircraft dubbed the X-47B has high maneuverability, and given that the aircraft has no pilot it can perform in a way that would render a pilot useless in a combat situation.

The aircraft is guided by a human controller on board an Aircraft Carrier for example, and can seek, monitor and destroy specified targets within second of establishing it.

Test have not yet been carried out from the deck of an aircraft carrier as some media sources have speculated upon, but the plan is now that the recent test has been successful the plans to move the speedy X-47B to an aircraft carrier can now step up a gear.

The U.S. Navy released details of the specifications of the X-47B, but as always kept a lot of the details secret for now. The specifications in the brief are as follows:

On Feb. 4, 2011, Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and the U.S. Navy successfully conducted the historic first flight of the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) aircraft.

The flight, which was conducted under hazy skies at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB), Calif., began at 2:09 p.m. PST and lasted 29 minutes.

The flight is a critical first step for the Navy/Northrop Grumman UCAS-D team toward demonstrating that a tailless, fighter-sized unmanned system can safely land and take off from the deck of a U.S. aircraft carrier.

The flight provided test data that will contribute to the verification and validation of the X-47B's air vehicle's guidance and navigation software, and the aerodynamic control of its tailless design.

First flight represents the culmination, verification and certification of pre-flight system data collected and analyzed by both the Navy and Northrop Grumman.

Prior to the flight, the test team demonstrated airworthiness of the airframe through proof load testing; propulsion system reliability through accelerated mission tests; software maturity and reliability through rigorous simulations; and overall system reliability through low speed and high speed taxi tests.

The X-47B aircraft will remain at Edwards AFB for flight envelope expansion before transitioning to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. later this year. There, the system will undergo additional tests to validate its readiness to begin testing in the maritime and carrier environment.

The UCAS-D program is preparing the X-47B for carrier trials in 2013.

Captain Jaime Engdahl a UCAS-D program manager of U.S. Navy is quoted as saying: "First flight represents the compilation of numerous tests to validate the airworthiness of the aircraft, and the robustness and reliability of the software that allows it to operate as an autonomous system and eventually have the ability to take-off and land aboard an aircraft carrier."

Source: U.S. Navy