MQ-25A Scat
When the MQ-25A finally enters service, it will be the most advanced unmanned aerial vehicle in the world. At least among those that are not secret. Almost all unmanned aerial vehicles currently in use are remotely controlled by a person. MQ-25A should represent the next generation - autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles that remain only under human supervision. US Navy photo
After a decade of research, testing and refinement, the US Navy has finally prepared a plan to introduce unmanned aerial vehicles into service. The platform, called the MQ-25A Stingray, is scheduled to enter service in 2022. However, this will not be a reconnaissance-strike aircraft, and it is not required to have undetectable characteristics, as was originally intended. His role was to perform the tasks of a tanker aircraft in the air. The secondary task will be reconnaissance, reconnaissance and tracking of surface targets (NDP).
In early 2003, the US Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA) began two experimental programs to create combat unmanned aerial vehicles. The US Air Force program was designated UCAV (Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle) and the US Navy program was named UCAV-N (UCAV-Naval). In XNUMX, the Pentagon merged both programs into one program to create "Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems", or J-UCAS (Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems).
As part of the UCAV program, Boeing developed the prototype X-45A aircraft, which took off on May 22, 2002. The second X-45A took to the air in November of that year. As part of the UCAV-N program, Northrop Grumman developed a prototype unmanned aerial vehicle, designated the X-47A Pegasus, which was tested on February 23, 2003. Both featured low radar visibility, the engines were hidden deep in the fuselage and the engine air intakes were located in the upper front fuselage. Both also had hull bomb chambers.
After a series of air tests, Boeing developed another prototype, designated the X-45C. Unlike the experimental X-45A, it was supposed to have a larger and more purposeful design, reminiscent of the B-2A Spirit bomber. Three prototypes were planned to be built in 2005, but none were eventually built. The essence was the withdrawal of the Air Force from the J-UCAS program in March 2006. The Navy also abandoned it, starting its own program.
UCAS-D program
In 2006, again in collaboration with DARPA, the US Navy launched the UCAS-D (Unmanned Combat Air System-Demonstrator) program, i.e. construction of an unmanned aerial combat system demonstrator. Northrop Grumman entered the program with a prototype proposal, designated the X-47B, and Boeing with an airborne version of the X-45C, designated the X-45N.
Ultimately, the Navy chose the Northrop Grumman project, which was contracted to build a demonstrator unmanned aerial vehicle, designated the X-47B. The following companies took part as subcontractors in the program: Lockheed Martin, Pratt & Whitney, GKN Aerospace, General Electric, UTC Aerospace Systems, Dell, Honeywell, Moog, Parker Aerospace and Rockwell Collins.
Two flying prototypes were created: AV-1 (Air Vehicle) and AV-2. The first was completed on December 16, 2008, but was not tested until February 4, 2011 due to program delays and the need for a series of avionics tests. The AV-2 prototype flew on November 22, 2011. Both flights took place at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
In May 2012, the AV-1 prototype began a series of tests at NAS Patuxent River Naval Base in Maryland. In June 2, AB-2012 joined him. The tests included, in particular, electromagnetic spectrum testing, taxiing, catapult takeoff and dragline landing in a ground laboratory simulating the deck of an aircraft carrier. The first takeoff of the catapult took place on November 29, 2012. The first rope landing in the Patuxent River took place on May 4, 2013.
At the end of November 2012, the first tests began on board the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), anchored at the naval base in Norfolk, Virginia. On December 18, 2012, the X-47B completed offshore testing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. During the campaign, the compatibility of the aircraft with the hangars, elevators and on-board systems of the aircraft carrier was evaluated. It was also checked how the aircraft behaves when maneuvering on board. The X-47B is controlled from the ground or from the deck of an aircraft carrier through a special remote control terminal CDU (Control Display Unit). The "operator" of the aircraft attaches it to the forearm and, thanks to a special joystick, can control the aircraft like a car by radio. In the air, the X-47B performs tasks autonomously or semi-autonomously. It is not controlled by a pilot, as is the case with remotely piloted aircraft such as the MQ-1 Predator or MQ-9 Reaper. The aircraft operator assigns the X-47B only general tasks, such as flying along a selected route, choosing a destination, or taking off and landing. Further, the aircraft independently performs the assigned tasks. However, if necessary, you can take direct control of it.
May 14, 2013 X-47B opened a new chapter in the history of American airborne aviation. The aircraft after a successful ejection from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush (CVN-77) made a 65-minute flight and landed at the Patuxent River base. On July 10 of the same year, the X-47B made two dragline landings aboard the aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush. The X-47B itself canceled the third planned landing after automatically detecting an anomaly in the operation of the navigation computer. It then proceeded to NASA's Wallops Island, Virginia, where it landed without issue.
On November 9-19, 2013, both X-47Bs underwent a series of additional tests on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71). These were the first tests of two prototypes. After a 45-minute flight, the aircraft performed touch-and-go touch-and-go landing maneuvers. Their behavior was evaluated in much stronger winds and blows from other directions than during previous tests. In another test, one of the planes flew around the aircraft carrier, while the other flew between the ship and the land base.
By September 18, 2013, the total flight time of the X-47B was 100 hours. Subsequent tests aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt took place on November 10, 2013. Aircraft carrier flight attendants were involved in a wider range of takeoffs and landings.
