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UAVs Displayed Prominently
Manned fighters may still rule the skies at this Farnborough air show, but their prospective replacements in the guise of unmanned combat air vehicles are more real and visible than ever.
Boeing and Northrop Grumman have brought and are prominently displaying full-scale models of their respective UCAV designs, which are under development for the Pentagon. Both competitors are introducing their latest configurations, Boeing the X-45C and Northrop Grumman the X-47B. The UCAV designs have grown significantly in recent months, largely because the sponsoring Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy have refined what they want.
Boeing plans to build at least three and perhaps as many as a dozen X-45Cs under the program, now called the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems. The vehicle measures 39 ft. in length, with a wingspan of 49.5 ft. In a wheels-up mode, the stealthy vehicle would be about 4 ft. thick, says Boeing program manager Darryl Davis. The flying prototype is slated to be powered by a General Electric F404-102D turbofan.
Northrop Grumman's X-47B will be 38.2 ft. long. Wingspan will vary depending on the specific configuration, but could reach 62 ft. The company has spent the past few months significantly enhancing the design's low observable characteristics, in part through the addition of Lockheed Martin to the team, says Northrop Grumman program manager Scott Winship. The X-47B will be powered by a Pratt & Whitney F100 derivative.
The UCAVs are to carry 4,500 lbs. payload internally and cruise at about 40,000 ft., and each has an approximate 36,000 lbs. gross takeoff weight.
Boeing continues to fly its smaller X-45As, exercising some of the interoperability features. Northrop Grumman has had to cease flying the X-47A, largely because of a lack of government funding. The X-45C and X-47B are slated for a head-to-head fly-off, albeit not for a few years. The Pentagon has not yet decided which to take into production—both, one or neither—so future Farnboroughs, should they exist, will remain manned fighter territory for the near term.
Boeing is in Hall 3, Stand A1, and Northrop Grumman is in Hall 5, Stand ISP21 here at the show.
—Robert Wall
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