Boeing X-45
Encyclopedia
The Boeing X-45 unmanned combat air vehicle
is a concept demonstrator for a next generation of completely autonomous military aircraft
, developed by Boeing's Phantom Works
. Manufactured by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems
, the X-45 was a part of DARPA's J-UCAS
project.
lambda wing, with a small exhaust outlet. It has no vertical control surfaces — split aileron
s near each wingtip function as asymmetric air brakes, providing rudder control, much as in Northrop
's flying wing
s.
Removing the pilot and its associated facilities dramatically reduces the aircraft's cost. Operators may remotely command the aircraft, but the actual piloting is autonomous.
in September 2000. The goal of the X-45A technology demonstrator program was to develop the technologies needed to "conduct suppression of enemy air defense missions with unmanned combat air vehicles." The first generation of unmanned combat air vehicles are primarily planned for air-to-ground roles with defensive air-to-air capabilities coupled with significant remote piloting.
The X-45A had its first flight on May 22, 2002, and the second vehicle followed in November of that year. On April 18, 2004, the X-45A's first bombing run test at Edwards Air Force Base
was successful; it hit a ground target with a 250-pound inert precision-guided munition. On August 1, 2004, for the first time, two X-45As were controlled in flight simultaneously by one ground controller.
On February 4, 2005, on their 50th flight, the two X-45As took off into a patrol pattern and were then alerted to the presence of a target. The X-45As then autonomously determined which vehicle held the optimum position, weapons (notional), and fuel load to properly attack the target. After making that decision, one of the X-45As changed course and the pilot-operator allowed it to attack the simulated antiaircraft emplacement. Following a successful strike, another simulated threat, this time disguised, emerged and was subsequently destroyed by the second X-45A. This demonstrated the ability of these vehicles to work autonomously as a team and manage their resources, as well as to engage previously-undetected targets, which is significantly harder than following a predetermined attack path.
After the completion of the flight test program, both X-45As were sent to museums, one to the National Air and Space Museum
, and the other to the National Museum of the United States Air Force
at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
, where it was inducted on November 13, 2006.
The larger X-45B design was modified to have even more fuel capacity and three times greater combat range, becoming the X-45C. Each wing's leading edge spans from the nose to the wingtip, giving the aircraft more wing area, and a planform very similar to the B-2 Spirit
s'. The first of the three planned X-45C aircraft was originally scheduled to be completed in 2006, with capability demonstrations scheduled for early 2007. By 2010 Boeing hoped to complete an autonomous aerial refueling
of the X-45C by a KC-135 Stratotanker
. Boeing has displayed a mock-up of the X-45C on static displays at many airshows.
The X-45C portion of the program received $767 million from DARPA in October 2004, to construct and test three aircraft, along with several supplemental goals. The X-45C included an F404 engine. In July 2005 DARPA awarded an additional $175 million to continue the program, as well as implement autonomous Aerial Refueling
technology.
As of March 2, 2006, the US Air Force has decided not to continue with the X-45 project. However, Boeing submitted a proposal to the Navy for a carrier based demonstrator version of the X-45, designated the X-45N.
), the US Navy started its own UCAS program. Requirements were defined over the summer of 2006, and proposals were submitted in April 2007.
The first flight of the X-45N was planned for November 2008, had Boeing won the contract. The contract was eventually awarded to Northrop Grumman's proposed naval X-47, thus ending the X-45 program.
The software Boeing developed to allow the X-45N to land and takeoff autonomously on aircraft carriers has recently been installed on the first F/A-18F, which has used it to perform autonomous approaches. All autonomous approaches ended with a wave-off by design. This Super Hornet is expected to be able to hook the carrier's arrester cables autonomously by the 2009 timeframe, setting the stage for carrier-borne UAV operations.
Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle
An unmanned combat air vehicle or combat drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle that is designed to deliver weapons without an onboard pilot. Currently operational UCAVs are under real-time human control, but future version may enable autonomous operation, for example with pre-programmed route and...
is a concept demonstrator for a next generation of completely autonomous military aircraft
Military aircraft
A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:...
, developed by Boeing's Phantom Works
Boeing Phantom Works
The Phantom Works division is the advanced prototyping arm of the Defense and Security side of The Boeing Company. Its primary focus is developing advanced military products and technologies, many of them highly classified, and has produced breakthroughs in defense, space and security.Founded by...
. Manufactured by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems
Boeing Defense, Space & Security formerly known as Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a unit of The Boeing Company responsible for defense and aerospace products and services. Boeing Integrated Defense Systems was formed in 2002 by combining the former "Military Aircraft and Missile Systems"...
, the X-45 was a part of DARPA's J-UCAS
Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems
Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems, or J-UCAS, was the name for the joint U.S. Navy/U.S. Air Force unmanned combat air vehicle procurement project. The two vehicles involved in the project were the Boeing X-45 and Northrop Grumman X-47. J-UCAS was managed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects...
project.
Development
Boeing developed the X-45 from research gathered during the development of the Bird of Prey. The X-45 features an extremely low-profile dorsal intake placed near the leading edge of the aircraft. The center fuselage is blended into a sweptSwept wing
A swept wing is a wing planform favored for high subsonic jet speeds first investigated by Germany during the Second World War. Since the introduction of the MiG-15 and North American F-86 which demonstrated a decisive superiority over the slower first generation of straight-wing jet fighters...
lambda wing, with a small exhaust outlet. It has no vertical control surfaces — split aileron
Aileron
Ailerons are hinged flight control surfaces attached to the trailing edge of the wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. The ailerons are used to control the aircraft in roll, which results in a change in heading due to the tilting of the lift vector...
s near each wingtip function as asymmetric air brakes, providing rudder control, much as in Northrop
Northrop N-9M
The Northrop N-9M was a one-third scale aircraft used for the development of the Northrop XB-35 and YB-35 Flying Wing long-range bomber program...
's flying wing
Flying wing
A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft which has no definite fuselage, with most of the crew, payload and equipment being housed inside the main wing structure....
s.
Removing the pilot and its associated facilities dramatically reduces the aircraft's cost. Operators may remotely command the aircraft, but the actual piloting is autonomous.
X-45A
Boeing built two of the model X-45A; both were scaled-down proof-of-concept aircraft. The first was completed by Boeing's Phantom WorksBoeing Phantom Works
The Phantom Works division is the advanced prototyping arm of the Defense and Security side of The Boeing Company. Its primary focus is developing advanced military products and technologies, many of them highly classified, and has produced breakthroughs in defense, space and security.Founded by...
in September 2000. The goal of the X-45A technology demonstrator program was to develop the technologies needed to "conduct suppression of enemy air defense missions with unmanned combat air vehicles." The first generation of unmanned combat air vehicles are primarily planned for air-to-ground roles with defensive air-to-air capabilities coupled with significant remote piloting.
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
was successful; it hit a ground target with a 250-pound inert precision-guided munition. On August 1, 2004, for the first time, two X-45As were controlled in flight simultaneously by one ground controller.
On February 4, 2005, on their 50th flight, the two X-45As took off into a patrol pattern and were then alerted to the presence of a target. The X-45As then autonomously determined which vehicle held the optimum position, weapons (notional), and fuel load to properly attack the target. After making that decision, one of the X-45As changed course and the pilot-operator allowed it to attack the simulated antiaircraft emplacement. Following a successful strike, another simulated threat, this time disguised, emerged and was subsequently destroyed by the second X-45A. This demonstrated the ability of these vehicles to work autonomously as a team and manage their resources, as well as to engage previously-undetected targets, which is significantly harder than following a predetermined attack path.
After the completion of the flight test program, both X-45As were sent to museums, one to the National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
, and the other to the National Museum of the United States Air Force
National Museum of the United States Air Force
The National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display...
at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...
, where it was inducted on November 13, 2006.
X-45B/C
B-2 Spirit
The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is an American heavy bomber with low observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. The bomber has a crew of two and can drop up to eighty -class JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen ...
s'. The first of the three planned X-45C aircraft was originally scheduled to be completed in 2006, with capability demonstrations scheduled for early 2007. By 2010 Boeing hoped to complete an autonomous aerial refueling
Aerial refueling
Aerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling , air-to-air refueling or tanking, is the process of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight....
of the X-45C by a KC-135 Stratotanker
KC-135 Stratotanker
The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an aerial refueling military aircraft. It and the Boeing 707 airliner were developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype. The KC-135 was the US Air Force's first jet-powered refueling tanker and replaced the KC-97 Stratotanker...
. Boeing has displayed a mock-up of the X-45C on static displays at many airshows.
The X-45C portion of the program received $767 million from DARPA in October 2004, to construct and test three aircraft, along with several supplemental goals. The X-45C included an F404 engine. In July 2005 DARPA awarded an additional $175 million to continue the program, as well as implement autonomous Aerial Refueling
Aerial refueling
Aerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling , air-to-air refueling or tanking, is the process of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight....
technology.
As of March 2, 2006, the US Air Force has decided not to continue with the X-45 project. However, Boeing submitted a proposal to the Navy for a carrier based demonstrator version of the X-45, designated the X-45N.
X-45N
The X-45N was Boeing's proposal to the Navy's Unmanned Combat Air Systems demonstration project. When it became known that the US Air Force would end funding to the Joint Unmanned Combat Air System program (which included the X-45 and X-47Northrop Grumman X-47B
|-See also:-External links:* and * * * * - TFOT magazine**...
), the US Navy started its own UCAS program. Requirements were defined over the summer of 2006, and proposals were submitted in April 2007.
The first flight of the X-45N was planned for November 2008, had Boeing won the contract. The contract was eventually awarded to Northrop Grumman's proposed naval X-47, thus ending the X-45 program.
The software Boeing developed to allow the X-45N to land and takeoff autonomously on aircraft carriers has recently been installed on the first F/A-18F, which has used it to perform autonomous approaches. All autonomous approaches ended with a wave-off by design. This Super Hornet is expected to be able to hook the carrier's arrester cables autonomously by the 2009 timeframe, setting the stage for carrier-borne UAV operations.
Phantom Ray
Boeing plans to develop and demonstrate an unmanned flying test bed for advanced air system technologies. The internally funded program, called Phantom Ray, will use the X-45C prototype vehicle that Boeing originally developed for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)/U.S. Air Force/U.S. Navy Joint-Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) program. The UAV is not aimed at any particular program or competition.Specifications (X-45A)
See also
External links
- Boeing X-45 Site
- X-45 Video Collection
- NASA Dryden X-45A UCAV Photo Collection
- First bombing run test is a success
- X-45C information
- Composites combat ready in UCAVs
- Boeing X-45 / X-46 page on designation-systems.net
- Photograph; X-45C unfinished prototype
- X-45C/N computer-rendered images
- Boeing 'Phantom Eye' Hydrogen Powered Vehicle Takes Shape