Boeing Phantom Ray UAS Completes 1st Flight

[Someoneforyou]

Boeing Phantom Ray Completes 1st Flight
UNITED STATES - 3 MAY 2011

ST. LOUIS | The Boeing Phantom Ray unmanned airborne system (UAS) successfully completed its first flight April 27 at NASA's Dryden Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

The 17-minute flight took place following a series of high-speed taxi tests in March that validated ground guidance, navigation and control and verified mission planning, pilot interface and operational procedures. Phantom Ray flew to 7,500 feet and reached a speed of 178 knots.

"This day has been two-and-a-half years in the making," said Darryl Davis, president, Boeing Phantom Works. "It's the beginning of providing our customers with a test bed to develop future unmanned systems technology, and a testament to the capabilities resident within Boeing. Just as follow-on tests will expand Phantom Ray's flight envelope, they also will help Boeing expand its presence in the unmanned systems market."

The flight demonstrated Phantom Ray's basic airworthiness, setting the stage for additional flights in the next few weeks. These company-funded flights will prepare Phantom Ray to support potential missions that may include intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; suppression of enemy air defenses; electronic attack; strike; and autonomous air refueling.

"The first flight moves us farther into the next phase of unmanned aircraft," said Craig Brown, Phantom Ray program manager for Boeing. "Autonomous, fighter-sized unmanned aircraft are real, and the UAS bar has been raised. Now I'm eager to see how high that bar will go."

Phantom Ray is one of several programs in Phantom Works, including Phantom Eye, that is part of a rapid prototyping initiative to design, develop and build advanced aircraft and then demonstrate their capabilities. Boeing's portfolio of UAS solutions also includes the A160T Hummingbird, Integrator, ScanEagle and SolarEagle.

Source: Boeing

 

[Someoneforyou]

Phantom Ray Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle:

The sleek craft has a 50ft wingspan, measures 36ft long and has a gross weight of 36,500lbs. It operates at an altitude of 40,000ft, which is 10,000ft higher than the average long-haul commercial airliner. It will cruise comfortably at a speed of 614 miles per hour (= 988 kilometers per hour), or 0.8mach, just shy of the speed of sound.

Designed in a way to create a very low radar cross-section, the craft doesn't betray its presence over enemy territories. The engine is buried within the body to reduce the infra-red signature, thus throwing missiles off its course. It is likely any weaponry on board would 'pop out' only when needed.

The pilotless unmanned aircraft is designed to execute a full range of potential military missions, including surveillance and reconnaissance; long-range, pre-emptive strikes against enemy air defenses; bombing of ground targets; and autonomous aerial refueling.

Photo: Phantom Ray Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle

 

[Someoneforyou]

Phantom Ray, one of several unmanned aircraft that Boeing is developing for future autonomous combat missions, seen during its maiden flight.

 

[Someoneforyou]

Video: First Flight of Phantom Ray Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV):

The Boeing Phantom Ray unmanned airborne system (UAS) successfully completed its first flight April 27 at NASA's Dryden Research Center at Edwards U.S. Air Force Base, Calif.

Source: The Boeing Company

 

[Rage]

Damn! That looks like one expensive drone. I'd like to see how the IFR works on this. Must be one amazing Flight Control computer.

I wonder also if this is capable of autonomous multi-ship op's.

 

[JAYRAM]

Boeing's Phantom Ray UCAV Makes Its First Flight


Boeing's Phantom Ray UCAV technology demonstrator has now made its first flight, potentially paving the way for the next generation of unmanned aircraft designs to be developed.

The Phantom Ray's maiden flight occurred on 27 April and saw it launch from Edwards Air Force Base in California: the USAF's main technology testing site.

The stealthy Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle spent a total of 17 minutes in the air and reached an altitude of 7,500 feet and a top speed of 178 knots, while the flight followed a recent collection of taxi trials carried out earlier in the year. These ground runs served to test a number of Phantom Ray capabilities, including its mission planning and navigational features.

The Phantom Ray first flight has now proved the design's fundamental airworthiness and its ability to be controlled autonomously. A programme of subsequent flight tests is scheduled for coming weeks and this will explore a host of different modern-day operational tactics and procedures, including air defence suppression, air-to-air refuelling, strike and surveillance.

The Boeing Phantom Ray project was initialised in 2007 and took its lead from the same firm's X-45C technology demonstrator. Boeing intends for it to be the first member of a future UCAV prototype family and, so far, only the one example has been built.

For many months, the Phantom Ray development programme was kept under wraps and, even at Boeing's facilities, only a very small number of engineers and officials were made aware of it. All that changed in May 2010, when the prototype was unveiled to the world during an official roll-out ceremony.

The first flight of the Boeing Phantom Ray UCAV represents the culmination of many months work, as a company representative explained in a press release.

"This day has been two-and-a-half years in the making", Boeing Phantom Works President, Darryl Davis, stated. "It's the beginning of providing our customers with a test bed to develop future unmanned systems technology, and a testament to the capabilities resident within Boeing. Just as follow-on tests will expand Phantom Ray's flight envelope, they also will help Boeing expand its presence in the unmanned systems market."

Boeing's Phantom Ray UCAV Makes Its First Flight ~ ASIAN DEFENCE NEWS