X-47B
The Northrop Grumman X-47B is the first stealth drone catapulted and recovered autonomously from an aircraft carrier: US Navy UCAS-D demonstrator, it paved the way for the MQ-25 program and the carrier-based UCAV concept.
X-47B
The Northrop Grumman X-47B is the first stealth drone catapulted and recovered autonomously from an aircraft carrier: US Navy UCAS-D demonstrator, it paved the way for the MQ-25 program and the carrier-based UCAV concept.
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- Reliability
- Unverified
- Sources
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Identity
- Designation
- X-47B
- Alias
- Northrop Grumman X-47B UCAS-D
- Manufacturer
- Northrop Grumman
- Country
- United States
- Year
- 2011
- Category
- UCAV (Combat UAV)
- Class
- Tactical (< 600 kg)
- Status
- Historic
Performance
- Range
- 3889 km
- Endurance
- ~6 h
- Top speed
- Subsonico alto (Mach 0.9)
- Service ceiling
- 12,000 m
- Propulsion
- Turbofan Pratt & Whitney F100-220U
Physical characteristics
- MTOW
- 20215 kg
- Payload
- 2000 kg
Onboard systems
- Sensors
- EO/IR, datalink stealth Link 16
- Datalink / control
- SATCOM stealth + LOS, autonomia di volo completa
- Launch
- Catapulta da portaerei
- Recovery
- Cavi d'arresto su portaerei (arrested recovery)
Combat use
- ▸First flight at Edwards AFB (February 2011)
- ▸First carrier launch from USS George H.W. Bush (May 2013)
- ▸First autonomous arrested landing on USS George H.W. Bush (July 2013)
- ▸First autonomous aerial refueling with a KC-707 (April 2015)
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History
First flight in 2011 at Edwards AFB, in May 2013 it performed the first catapult launch from USS George H.W. Bush and in July 2013 the first autonomous carrier arrested landing in history.
In 2015 it carried out the first autonomous aerial refueling between a UAV and a manned tanker (KC-707), opening the technological path to the MQ-25 Stingray.
On the development side, the Northrop Grumman X-47B grew out of the DARPA/US Navy UCAS-D (Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator) program as a demonstrator of a fully unmanned carrier-based stealth fighter, with a tailless flying-wing configuration inspired by the B-2 Spirit.
On the future-naval-warfare front, on 10 July 2013 the X-47B made history as the first fighter-sized, fighter-weight drone to perform an autonomous arrested landing on an aircraft carrier (USS George H.W. Bush), paving the way for the MQ-25 Stingray program and future carrier-based UCAVs.
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