aREDSKIN Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 PALMDALE - Heralded as the future of naval aviation, the X-47B unmanned combat aircraft for the Navy was unveiled Tuesday before an enthusiastic crowd at Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Palmdale facility. With the Stars and Stripes as a backdrop and the strains of "Anchors Away" echoing through the hangar, the men and women who have contributed to its development greeted the cutting-edge aircraft during the afternoon ceremony. "It stands out as being a very good-looking aircraft," said Scott Winship, Navy Unmanned Combat Air System program manager for Northrop Grumman. A first for the Navy, the X-47B is intended to demonstrate the capability of an unmanned, stealthy aircraft to operate from a carrier. Such an aircraft could offer the Navy the ability to provide long-range strike as well as long-endurance missions for surveillance. "The Navy is looking for what that next generation airplane has got to have in the way of attributes," said Capt. Martin Deppe, Navy UCAS program manager. "A concept like this is certainly a candidate." An unmanned aircraft can operate for tens of hours longer than a pilot can safely endure, providing a persistent presence over an area of interest. "If you want persistence, if you want stealth and you want it to be Navy-based, it's going to look a lot like this," Winship said. "The ultimate goal is for us to be able to project power around the world to help people achieve and maintain freedom," said Congressman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, whose district includes Northrop Grumman's Palmdale facility. The X-47B is part of a demonstration program to show how an unmanned vehicle may operate in the demanding and unique environment of an aircraft carrier...............continues at link. http://www.avpress.com/n/17/1217_s1.hts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuposse87 Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 reminds me of that movie stealth... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slateman Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 So how much money are wasting on the squids' self licking ice cream cone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Mike Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 reminds me of that movie stealth... Except this will be under the control of a pilot on board the carrier. It will be a great tool for dangerous missions where we don't want to risk a pilot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Except this will be under the control of a pilot on board the carrier.It will be a great tool for dangerous missions where we don't want to risk a pilot. And you could operate it at g-forces that would knock a pilot out. And cut out the weight of the pilot and his seat/ejection system, life-support technology, etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuposse87 Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Except this will be under the control of a pilot on board the carrier.It will be a great tool for dangerous missions where we don't want to risk a pilot. If its done by a remote signal, what happens if the signal is jammed? Like what if this thing flies over a lightening storm...what I'm getting at is, how reliably should we expect this thing to operate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Pfah, I had one. Traded it in for a Camry. Probably not one of my smarter moves, but the mileage is worth it, and I can actually ride in it ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnyderShrugged Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 pretty cool stuff there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stophovr6 Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 If its done by a remote signal, what happens if the signal is jammed? Like what if this thing flies over a lightening storm...what I'm getting at is, how reliably should we expect this thing to operate? If the Navy seriously didn't foresee lightning storms being a problem, I'd say our military had bigger worries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 If its done by a remote signal, what happens if the signal is jammed? Like what if this thing flies over a lightening storm...what I'm getting at is, how reliably should we expect this thing to operate? We've been flying UAVs for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuposse87 Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 We've been flying UAVs for years. ok i'll concede that but... i have to imagine though, in a dogfight, there has to be something a lot different when your doing it by remote control then in person. Not like we're playing starfox here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjah Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 If its done by a remote signal, what happens if the signal is jammed? Like what if this thing flies over a lightening storm...what I'm getting at is, how reliably should we expect this thing to operate? I'm sure a massive part of the design process revolves around signaling and security. And if it doesn't, then we're all F-ed because this is the future of air combat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgundy Burner Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Pfah, I had one.Traded it in for a Camry. Probably not one of my smarter moves, but the mileage is worth it, and I can actually ride in it ~Bang I would've done the same thing with mine, but I lost it. Or it disappeared somehow. Not quite sure what happened to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 ok i'll concede that but...i have to imagine though, in a dogfight, there has to be something a lot different when your doing it by remote control then in person. Not like we're playing starfox here. It would be different but I think the idea is not to get in a 'dogfight'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 ok i'll concede that but...i have to imagine though, in a dogfight, there has to be something a lot different when your doing it by remote control then in person. Not like we're playing starfox here. The difference is lag. The same problem online gamers suffer when playing the single player version versus playing against other players on the net. The father a signal has to travel the longer the delay between the order the operator gives it and what the machine does. The advantage however is that an unmanned plane can have lower weight and designed based on what is needed, not on what the pilot needs. As mentioned earlier the plane can be designed to pull off moves a pilot could not endure. There is a give or take but just like some gamers get so good at controller thier starfox that 100 avreage gamers couldn't shoot them down... a remote pilot could eventually adapt to the time delay and rule dogfights given a superior vehicle in the fight. As it stands right now however it seems the unmanned vehicles aren't fighter planes. The problem would be signal jamming IMO. To stick to gaming as an example when you can't beat your buddy at Madden... just knock the controller out of his hand at the right moment. Iraq and Afghanistan may not have the tech to do it... but what about Russia and China? I wonder if they can do something about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikered30 Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 X-47B Completes First Carrier-based Launch http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=05e_1368572906 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arasmus Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonniey Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Except this will be under the control of a pilot on board the carrier.It will be a great tool for dangerous missions where we don't want to risk a pilot. The pilot probably would not be aboard the carrier. Why have him there when it would be cheaper to have him based on land? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 The pilot probably would not be aboard the carrier. Why have him there when it would be cheaper to have him based on land? wouldn't bet on that, the new drone helicopter squadron will have pilots aboard ship Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikered30 Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 The Air Force has a X-37B, has been up in the air for nearly 500 days, it is still a mystery why it is up there. http://news.yahoo.com/secret-spaceplane-mystery-mission-094500663--politics.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamB Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 Pfah, I had one. Traded it in for a Camry. Probably not one of my smarter moves, but the mileage is worth it, and I can actually ride in it ~Bang I had to get rid of mine after the neighbors complained it kept targeting their chihuahuas....no idea how that happened, probably a software glitch... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 a new look http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-drone-fighter-jet-operations-20140818-story.html e U.S. Navy said its jet-powered, bat-winged X-47B drone has conducted carrier deck operations and performed maneuvers alongside an F/A-18 fighter jet, marking the first time manned and unmanned aircraft have operated together on the same carrier. Navy officials hailed the test flights of the experimental drone, which were completed Sunday on the Theodore Roosevelt in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, as a milestone in carrier-based naval aviation. "Today we showed that the X-47B could take off, land and fly in the carrier pattern with manned aircraft while maintaining normal flight deck operations," Capt. said Beau Duarte, program manager for the Navy's unmanned carrier aviation office, in a statement. "This is key for the future carrier air wing." Combat drones used by the Air Force and CIA are controlled remotely by a human pilot, often sitting thousands of miles away. The Navy drone is designed to carry out a combat mission controlled almost entirely by a computer. A human pilot would design its flight path and send it on its way. A computer program would guide it from a ship to the target and back. 8 Unlike the Predator and other propeller-driven combat drones, the X-47B is stealthy and jet-powered. Built by Northrop Grumman Corp., it looks like a mini-B-2 stealth bomber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCSaints_fan Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 If its done by a remote signal, what happens if the signal is jammed? Like what if this thing flies over a lightening storm...what I'm getting at is, how reliably should we expect this thing to operate? Indiscriminate, always-on jamming is like wearing a neon sign at night that says "please shoot me" - you are telling your opponent where you are and making it that much easier to knock you out I think the Navy is smart enough to avoid lighting storms ... and I'm sure put the thing in autopilot for a good long while if you need to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointyfootball Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 ...U.S. Navy said its jet-powered, bat-winged X-47B drone has conducted carrier deck operations and performed maneuvers alongside an F/A-18 fighter jet, marking the first time manned and unmanned aircraft have operated together on the same carrier. I figure this is like taking your kid out on the first day with his permit. Your hand is on the emergency brake handle and you're praying the whole way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 I figure this is like taking your kid out on the first day with his permit. Your hand is on the emergency brake handle and you're praying the whole way. and before ya know it they are on the Grand Prix circuit saying try to keep up Gramps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.