Aircraft
First Flight for Boeing’s Hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye UAS
The LH2-powered Boeing Phantom Eye made its long-awaited first flight at Edwards AFB on June 1. It took off from a wheeled dolly, which can be seen in this photo in front of the white truck. (Photo: Boeing)
The LH2-powered Boeing Phantom Eye made its long-awaited first flight at Edwards AFB on June 1. It took off from a wheeled dolly, which can be seen in this photo in front of the white truck. (Photo: Boeing)

Boeing has flown the Phantom Eye high-altitude long-endurance (Hale) unmanned aircraft system powered by liquid hydrogen (LH2). The 150-foot-wingspan, all-composite aircraft flew for 28 minutes from the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB in Southern California on June 1, reaching an altitude of slightly more than 4,000 feet. “This flight puts Boeing on a path to accomplish another aerospace first–four days of unrefueled, autonomous flight,” said Boeing Phantom Works president Darryl Davis.