Saturday, March 06, 2010
New X-47B manager wants to bring testing back on schedule
A new program manager for the U.S. Navy's X-47B says he is keen to get the development effort back on schedule.
"I know we're off schedule," he continued. "I cannot tell you how far off. We've said we're going to fly later this year. My goal is to tell you precisely when we will fly later this year."
Labels: UCAS-D
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Saturday, February 20, 2010
USN plans armed UCAS-D
The next iteration of the U.S. Navy's carrier-based unmanned combat aircraft system will be armed with weapons and sensors.
Rear Adm. William Shannon, program executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons, said a RFI will be released this year.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Thursday, February 18, 2010
X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Taking Shape On Board Lincoln
Personnel from the U.S. Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System (N-UCAS) program team and industry partner Northrop Grumman Corporation are underway with USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) to test the integration of existing ship systems with new systems that will support the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D).
This effort will reduce program risk and is one of many steps toward the X-47B's first carrier arrested landing or "trap."
Labels: UCAS-D
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Friday, February 05, 2010
UCAS-D undergoing taxi trials
U.S. Navy Air Systems Command officials this week announced that the X-47 is now undergoing taxi tests and first flight is expected by end of the year.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
X-47B first flight now 2nd quarter of FY2010
The Naval Air Systems Command UCAS-D program office (PMA-268) just announced that first flight of the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator will take place in second quarter of fiscal year 2010.
During recent check-outs, it was found that engine start sequencing did not operate to required performance levels. There were also propulsion acoustic issues.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Roughead wants to accelerate X-47
Chief of U.S. Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead told reporters that he is pushing to have the X-47 rolled out sooner than planned.
"I believe that this is an area ... where I think we can move a little more quickly than what we have in the past. As we do that, I believe that there has to be an acceptance that it's not all going to be perfect," he said.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Thursday, October 08, 2009
GE Aviation Delivers First X‐47B Navy Unmanned Combat Air System Landing Gear
GE Aviation recently delivered the first fully-dressed landing gear to Northrop Grumman Corporation in support of the X-47B Navy Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D) program.
The delivery includes production fully-dressed landing gear that is designed to meet and/or exceed all U.S. Navy carrier landing requirements for a fully loaded UCAS-D aircraft.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Thursday, August 13, 2009
X-47B first flight pushed back a few weeks
Anomalies has been discovered on the X-47B during recently completed proof-load testing.
Due to that, the U.S. Navy has decided to push back the first flight from mid-November to later in that month and possibly into December.
However program manager, Capt. Marty Deppe, said the program is still on track.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Wednesday, August 12, 2009
F/A-18D may perform "hands-off" deck landing with X-47B package
At the AUVSI's Unmanned Systems North America 2009 conference, the U.S. Navy says a F/A-18D could make a "hands-off" landing as early as 2011.
Hardware and software from the X-47B will be modified on the Hornet's autopilot to make it into a surrogate testbed for the UCAV.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Thursday, July 30, 2009
X-47B completes static and dynamic proof load tests
Northrop Grumman recently completed a series of static and dynamic proof load tests to validate the design and structural integrity of the U.S. Navy's first X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) for aircraft carrier launches, recoveries and at-sea operations under the UCAS Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D) program.
Conducted over a two-month period with NAVAIR involvement and oversight, the first X-47B underwent a series of progressive structural, functional proof and calibration tests to verify the integrity of all flight control surfaces, major structural load paths, main landing gear structure and tailhook assembly.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Monday, July 13, 2009
X-47B will have tail hook from Tomcat, tires from Viking
The X-47B is designed to use the tail hook from the F-14, tires and brakes from the S-3 and F/A-18 and F-22 generators.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Thursday, July 02, 2009
U.S. Navy reveals plan for autonomous aerial refuelling
The U.S. Navy intends to let the X-47B refuel autonomously with a Super Hornet under the actively stabilized drogue refueling system (ASDRS) program.
The demonstration is planned to take place in November 2012 but the Navy said it plans to demonstrate the capability first with an F/A-18C/D surrogate in late 2011.
Besides allowing unmanned aircraft to refuel autonomously, the program also hopes to improve refueling for manned aircraft.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Wednesday, June 24, 2009
USN's aviation community begins to see value in X-47B UCAV
Northrop Grumman deputy program director Tim Beard told IQPC's UCAV conference in London on Monday that the U.S. Navy is slowly beginning to appreciate the values of the X-47B UCAV.
Northrop Grumman found that when its X-47B was pitted against a super-F-35 with a greater range. The X-47B could make four-to-six trips into the target while the F-35 can only do it once due to human endurance.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Robert Work confirmed as U.S. Navy undersecretary
Robert Work has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new undersecretary for the U.S. Navy. Work previously work for CSBA and we talked about his publications before
here and
here.
Do expect him to push the naval aviation community towards accelerating the use of unmanned combat aerial vehicles on flattops as he is a big proponent of it.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Wraps Come Off U.S. Navy's First Tailless, Stealthy Unmanned Aircraft
Aviation Week looks into efforts made by Northrop Grumman to make its X-47B an all-aspect stealth aircraft.
Engineers borrowed the "double roll" hinging mechanism from the A-12 to ensure that the UCAV's hinging wing will not have a bulge to affect its stealthiness.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Tuesday, December 09, 2008
X-47B to test aerial refueling
The second X-47B demonstrator will be modified for probe-and-drogue and boom-and-receptacle style of aerial refueling.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Thursday, August 14, 2008
Northrop Grumman Selects Wind River for Flight Control and Mission Systems on its X-47B Navy-Unmanned Aerial Combat System
Northrop Grumman Corporation has selected Wind River VxWorks 653 as the device software platform for its X-47B Navy-Unmanned Aerial Combat System (N-UCAS).
"We chose Wind River because of our successful past usage of VxWorks, and its forward-looking product strategy that allows us to migrate to ARINC 653 and secure Multiple Independent Levels of Security (MILS) systems," said Tighe Parmenter, Manager, X-47B Navy UCAS Business Strategy and Development, Northrop Grumman. "In addition, the platform enables reductions in device size, weight and power, thereby reducing significant design, engineering and production risks."
Labels: UCAS-D
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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Northrop Grumman sets schedule for prototype X-47B testing
Northrop Grumman told Jane's that the first X-47B UCAS-D will make its maiden flight from Edwards Air Force Base in November 2009.
Scott Winship, vice-president of Northrop Grumman's X-47B demonstration programme, said the first UCAS-D is 70 per cent complete and the second prototype will begin construction in January 2009.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Monday, March 24, 2008
Northrop Crafts Multimission N-UCAS
Northrop Grumman is using its X-47B to develop next-generation unmanned strike aircraft that has early missile defense intercepts capability.
Advanced air-to-air missiles are being studied as part of the boost-phase intercept mission.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Saturday, March 08, 2008
U.S. Navy: Unmanned Combat Squadron by 2025
The U.S. Navy is preparing to field its first Unmanned Combat Air Systems (UCAS) squadron by 2025.
NUCAS is expected to replace the Navy's F/A-18s on aircraft carrier decks, and the system will provide greater range and time on station than the manned fleet.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Sunday, January 27, 2008
Unmanned aboard - Northrop Grumman aims to prove UCAS can operate from carriers
Flight International has a comprehensive article on the Northrup Grumman X-47 UCAS-D.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Saturday, August 18, 2007
Navy weapons buyer views future UAV platforms
Delores Etter, the U.S. Navy acquisitions chief, visit the Northrup Grumman facility at Palmdale to review the Fire Scout unmanned helicopter and the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Will Drones Work on Carriers?
Military.com has details on how the X-47B will launch and recover on board an aircraft carrier.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Friday, August 10, 2007
Details About Northrop UCAS Operations Emerge
Aviation Week reveal that the X-47B will have stealth protection against both high frequency (anti-aircraft radars and ground-to-air or air-to-air missiles) and low frequency (long-range search radars) emitters.
Northrup Grumman is adapting the two weapons bays to carry 12 SDBs instead of two 2,000-pound JDAMs.
The company also plans to install 600-gallon fuel tanks in the bays for aerial refueling.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Navy Strike Drone Will Demo Shipboard Ops Only
Rear Adm. Timothy Heely, the U.S. Navy official overseeing the UCAS-D program, says the X-47B will only be a "proof-of-concept" vehicle.
Weapons and tactics development are not included in the demonstration program.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Saturday, August 04, 2007
Lost That Bet
Bill Sweetman shares his views on the recent win of the Unmanned Combat Air System CV Demonstration (UCAS-D) program by Northrup Grumman.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Friday, August 03, 2007
Boeing to Protest Drone Decision?
Dave Axe at Aviation Week says Boeing might consider legal action to challenge the award of the UCAS-D contract to Northrup Grumman.
Labels: UCAS-D
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Thursday, August 02, 2007
Northrop-Grumman selected for Navy UCAS demo
Its a sad day for Boeing folks and joy for Northrup Grumman as the X-47 has been selected for the Unmanned Combat Air Systems Technical Demonstration (UCAS-D).
Boeing did a lot of fine work on the X-45 and I hope they got better luck in future.
Labels: UCAS-D
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