Chris Pocock has been covering the defense beat for AIN for over 30&nbsp;years. He is a British citizen and a graduate of the University of Cambridge. Chris worked in the air cargo business for ten years before becoming a full-time writer in 1983. He subsequently edited two air cargo journals before becoming AIN’s Defense Editor. He retired from that position in 2018, but still contributes to the publication. Chris has written extensively on aerial reconnaissance, including four books on the history of the U-2 spyplane. He also lectures on this and other topics related to intelligence-gathering in the Cold War.

Defense Correspondent

Chris Pocock

The first flight of the Northrop Grumman X-47B demonstrator for the U.S. Navy took place at Edwards AFB on February 4. Northrop Grumman which has been working on the <a href="?q=node/25590">Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D)</a> contract since August 2007, rolled out the first of two air vehicles in December 2008 and originally predicted a first flight in late 2009. But, as program manager Janis Pamiljans noted, "Designing a tail-less, fighter-sized unmanned aircraft from a clean sheet is no small feat." Northrup Grumman said airframe proof load tests, propulsion system accelerated mission tests, software maturity and reliability simulations, full system taxi test, and numerous other system test activities were all completed and certified before first flight.
The aircraft will remain at Edwards AFB for flight-envelope expansion before transitioning to NAS Patuxent River, Md., later this year. There, preparations to fly the X-47B from an aircraft carrier will be finalized, leading to the first "cat-and-trap" of an autonomous, low-observable unmanned aircraft in 2013. Autonomous aerial refueling will also be performed after carrier integration and at-sea trials.

X-47B Naval UCAV Makes Historic First Flight

The first flight of the Northrop Grumman X-47B demonstrator for the U.S.

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