UFO-Like Stealth Drone Soars in U.S. Navy Test Flight

SPACE.com
Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:34 UTC

Military drones have already begun edging out manned fighter jets and bombers over the past decade, and the U.S. Navy doesn't plan on being left behind. Its vision for unmanned aerial warfare includes a tailless robotic aircraft resembling a UFO that is scheduled to begin landing on aircraft carriers in 2013. As a step toward that goal, the X-47B drone recently made its first flight in cruise mode with retracted landing gear.

The Navy has enlisted the X-47B drone - a Northrop Grumman design with a stealthy profile - as more than just its very first carrier-based drone. It also wants to use the X-47B as a test platform for autonomous aerial refueling without human assistance in 2014.

"Last week's flight gave us our first clean look at the aerodynamic cruise performance of the X-47B air system ... and it is proving out all of our predictions," said Janis Pamiljans, vice president and Navy UCAS program manager for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector.

The flight test also served as a trial run for the robotic aircraft's onboard navigation hardware and software. Such robotic brains are designed to help the X-47B take off from and land on the heaving deck of an aircraft carrier.

Planned tests for the drone don't include weapon or sensor demonstrations, but there's no apparent reason why it might not carry weapons in the future. The U.S. military has already demonstrated the lethality of armed drone strikes with its Reaper and Predator unmanned aerial systems in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, and the Navy has also announced plans to arm ship-based helicopter drones.

The latest test flight took place at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Reader Comments

hukk phinn · 2011-10-12T17:09:20Z

hi-priority

on the same day a report telling of the inhuman state of affairs in that, at a minimum, 10 million children go hungry every day... that means wake up, pass the day and then go to bed hungry... but of course we have unlimited funds for this type of research and military weaponry... BlowhardBama, they (meaning the mil/ind cmplx) really do have you by the curlies don't they?... a true shame

inverse · 2011-10-13T01:00:11Z

Worry in numbers

The speed they are building drones I would assume something big is going to kick off in the next 10 years. What worries me is that drones can go into a nuclear war zone as it has no pilot. They are also building re-fueler drones so that a contaminated drone never has to come out of that zone.

closefriendofgod · 2011-10-13T04:04:58Z

Ah, Ms Pamiljans

Janice...do you know the product that you wrote about in your pr. presentation?

I assume that you understand aerodynamics considering you state that "we" got "our" first 'clean' look at--- --air system.

Do you also understand what function said air systems perform?

On that proud unveiling day of the test flight, did you, even if just for a moment,think about what your product does? How many will be killed? Maimed? Left to die? Left Motherless? Fatherless? Childless?

And what about the environmental destruction? Knowing aerodynamics, you of course are quite astute as to the impact -----------air systems will have on targeted environs.