Northrop Grumman rolled out the X-47B UCAS-D (unmanned combat air system-demonstrator) in December 2008 and since then has been busy preparing the first of two vehicles for its maiden flight, expected shortly. Low- and high-speed trials have been completed at Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California, where the second X-47B is in final assembly. The first vehicle has been moved to Edwards Air Force Base for high-speed taxi and rejected takeoff trials, in preparation for its first flight.
The X-47B has been funded by the U.S. Navy to demonstrate the feasibility of a carrier-capable unmanned combat air vehicle. Quite apart from the unmanned element, the type’s low-observable configuration also presents something of a challenge, especially in terms of approach control, as the X-47 will be the Navy’s first tailless carrier aircraft since the days of the Vought Cutlass and Douglas Skyray.
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