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| Northrop gets $1bn to build unmanned fighter |
| 2004-08-25 |
| A US defence contractor has received more than $1bn in funding to build a prototype unmanned fighter aircraft for the American military. Northrop Grumman will build at least three full-scale flight prototypes for the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) over five years. The contract win will allow Northrop to continue work on its X-47B combat drone. It is hoped that many unmanned fighters would be networked and controlled from land or from an aircraft carrier. Key missions envisaged for the vehicle include suppression of enemy air defences, precision strike, electronic attack and surveillance deep into enemy airspace. Boeing is already developing another drone called the X-45C under the same operational assessment phase of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) demonstration programme, led by Darpa. J-UCAS aims to find a stealthy, unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) with integrated sensors, navigation and communications that can operate in the network-centric battlefield of tomorrow. Network-centric warfare involves gaining the upper hand against an enemy through information superiority, enabling resources to be deployed faster and more effectively than has been possible in the past. "The X-47B promises to be a highly capable air warfare system, well suited to support the full spectrum of military operations," said Scott Winship, Northrop Grumman's J-UCAS programme director. "It will be very stealthy and thus highly survivable. It will carry a wide variety of sensors with a large internal weapons payload and be fully networked into the military's emerging joint operational architecture." The award includes initial funding of $30m. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #10 Didn't I see Chevy Chase hawking these things a while back?... |
| Posted by: mojo 2004-08-25 4:37:03 PM |
| #9 Anonymoose, be patient, they are on the way. Small remote vehicles with medium and light machine guns are close to being fielded. These are a nasty piece of kit. There are many UGV programs in the works right now and more and more of these are going to mount weapons. There probably won't be a remote vehicle with a weapon as large as the 120mm smoothbore of the Abrams for a long time due to safety considerations, but the smaller stuff is about ready to rock. |
| Posted by: remote man 2004-08-25 12:33:45 PM |
| #8 Here's a $64 question: why haven't they fielded a robotic Stryker yet? Smaller, faster, more heavily armored, more weaponry, lighter. I know that robotic tanks have been wanted since the German wire-guided mini-tank of WWII. If you want a happy medium, why not make a remotely controlled robot with just a single crewman for whatever special purpose? |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2004-08-25 12:19:33 PM |
| #7 LOL #3... could there possibly BE any more than are currently there? |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-08-25 11:22:47 AM |
| #6 Check out what the crew of the"Old Dog"(Dale Brown)have been doing latly. Authors like Brown and Clancy blow me away.I am always reading about advanced milltech before it is general knowledge. |
| Posted by: raptor 2004-08-25 10:31:46 AM |
| #5 " The Americans have recruited little gray infidels! Allan help us! " |
| Posted by: Charles 2004-08-25 8:11:17 AM |
| #4 What's this unmanned nonsense? |
| Posted by: A Shepard 2004-08-25 8:06:25 AM |
| #3 I can safely predict an uptick in the number of UFO reports Oh no...more kooks on coast to coast radio. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2004-08-25 4:15:59 AM |
| #2 Looking at the X-45 and X-47 pics from .com's link, I think I can safely predict an uptick in the number of UFO reports over the next few years. |
| Posted by: Patrick Phillips 2004-08-25 4:10:05 AM |
| #1 Here's DARPA's J-UCAS Overview page with specs, info, and photos of both UAV's. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-08-25 3:13:32 AM |