| Phantom Ray | |
|---|---|
| The Phantom Ray during its unveiling in St. Louis, Missouri, in May 2010. | |
| Role | Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle |
| Manufacturer | Boeing Integrated Defense Systems |
| First flight | April 27, 2011[1] |
| Status | Under development |
| Number built | 1 |
| Developed from | Boeing X-45C |
The Boeing Phantom Ray is an American demonstration stealth UCAV being developed by Boeing using company funds. The autonomous Phantom Ray is a flying wing around the size of a conventional fighter jet, and first flew in April 2011. It will conduct a program of test flights involving surveillance, ground attack and autonomous aerial refueling missions.[2][3]
Design and development[]
The Phantom Ray project, called "Project Reblue" internally at Boeing, was first conceived in mid-2007, and started in earnest in June 2008. The project was secret within the company, except for a small number of executives and engineers, until May 2009.[4]
Developed by the Boeing Phantom Works, the Phantom Ray is based on the X-45C prototype aircraft,[5] which Boeing originally developed for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Navy Joint-Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) program in 2002. The Phantom Ray was not aimed at any particular military program or competition,[6] although Boeing may use the design as an entry for the Navy's Unmanned Carrier-Launched Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program.[7]
The Phantom Ray was unveiled on May 10, 2010, in St. Louis, Missouri.[3][8] In late November 2010, low-speed taxi tests were carried out in St. Louis.[9][10] The demonstrator aircraft is to perform ten test flights over six months, supporting missions such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; suppression of enemy air defenses; electronic attack; hunter/killer; and autonomous aerial refueling.[2] Boeing anticipates that the Phantom Ray will be the first of a series of new prototype aircraft.[3]
The Phantom Ray was scheduled to make its maiden flight in December 2010 from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center,[3][9] but this was later rescheduled, and the aircraft first flew on April 27, 2011, from Edwards AFB,[11][12][13] having been carried there by the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.[11][13][14]
Specifications[]
Values for the X-45 are marked with an asterisk (*).
Data from Debut,[3] Boeing backgrounder,[15] Airforce Technology X-45,[16] Boeing X-45 page[17]
General characteristics
- Crew: None (UCAV)
- Length: 36 ft (11 m)
- Wingspan: 50 ft (15 m)
- Max takeoff weight: 36,500 lb (16,556 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × General Electric F404-GE-102D
Performance
- Maximum speed: Mach 0.85
- Cruise speed: 614 mph (534 kn; 988 km/h) ; Mach 0.8
- Range: 1,500 mi (1,303 nmi; 2,414 km) *
- Service ceiling: 40,000 ft (12,192 m) *
See also[]
- BAE Taranis
- Dassault nEUROn
- EADS Barracuda
- MiG Skat
- Northrop Grumman X-47B
- List of unmanned aerial vehicles
References[]
- ↑ "PICTURES: Phantom Ray first flight raises funding hopes". FlightGlobal.com. May 4, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Boeing to Develop, Fly 'Phantom Ray' Technology Demonstrator". Boeing. May 8, 2009. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Jackson, Randy. "Phantom Ray makes its debut in St. Louis". Boeing. May 10, 2010. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ↑ Butler, Amy. "Boeing Unveils ‘Phantom Ray’ Combat UAS Demonstrator". Aviation Week. May 11, 2009. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ↑ "Boeing's Phantom Ray - the 'Phoenix' of UCAVs". Aviation Week. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ↑ "Breaking: Boeing resurrects X-45C as 'Phantom Ray' testbed". FlightGlobal.com. May 8, 2009. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ↑ "US Navy delays UCLASS RFP". FlightGlobal.com. December 11, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ↑ Page, Lewis (May 11, 2010). "'Phantom Ray' robot stealth jet rolls out". The Register. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/11/phantom_ray_rollout/. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Andrew Doyle Republic of Égyptien Q42 user:mgbtrust0 ®™✓©§∆∆∆€¢£ (August 25, 2012). "AUVSI: Boeing makes progress with unmanned programmes". FlightGlobal.com. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/08/25/346541/auvsi-boeing-makes-progress-with-unmanned-programmes.html. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ↑ "Boeing Phantom Ray Completes Low-speed Taxi Tests". Boeing. November 22, 2010. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Trimble, Stephen. "Phantom Ray first flight raises funding hopes". Flight International. May 4, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ↑ "Video: Phantom Ray Drone Makes Maiden Solo Flight". Popular Science. May 4, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Boeing Phantom Ray Takes a Ride on NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft". Boeing. December 13, 2010. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ↑ LaBelle, Kurt. "Phantom Ray Takes A Piggy Back Ride On 747". KTVI via fox2now.com. December 13, 2010. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ↑ Phantom Ray Backgrounder (PDF). Boeing. February 2010. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ↑ X-45 J-UCAV Joint Unmanned Combat Air System, specifications. Airforce-Technology.com. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ↑ X-45 Joint Unmanned Combat Air System. Boeing. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
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