My Dear Prodigies,
Sorry for the delay in the Christmas Special Post, it happened due to a technical difficulty.
But now it is Here. Autonomy at its Best.
The Airplane has established communication with the tower. It is in constant contact with the Tower while establishing distance, speed and speed of the aircraft carrier. The airplane is now nearing the aircraft carrier and after sometime landed on it. It didn't seem peculiar, did it?
Well, but there it is . The Airplane has NO pilot in it. Didn't it strike you? Yeah, Its the X47B. The latest autonomous drone craft developed by Northrop Grumman Corp. for the United States Military. Northrop Grumman said that it will be the predecessor to The X45 Pegasus, which was company-funded.
Yes, the advancement in Aircraft Technology is here. The X47B has been funded by DARPA's (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency) UCAS (Unmanned Combat Air System) Program. It performed its first flight on Edwards Air Force Base on February 4,2011. It performed its first Carrier Evaluation Test on board the USS Harry S. Truman in February,2012. The Plane has subsonic capabilities.
Some of its features are:-
Sorry for the delay in the Christmas Special Post, it happened due to a technical difficulty. But now it is Here. Autonomy at its Best.
The Airplane has established communication with the tower. It is in constant contact with the Tower while establishing distance, speed and speed of the aircraft carrier. The airplane is now nearing the aircraft carrier and after sometime landed on it. It didn't seem peculiar, did it?
Yes, the advancement in Aircraft Technology is here. The X47B has been funded by DARPA's (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency) UCAS (Unmanned Combat Air System) Program. It performed its first flight on Edwards Air Force Base on February 4,2011. It performed its first Carrier Evaluation Test on board the USS Harry S. Truman in February,2012. The Plane has subsonic capabilities.
Some of its features are:-
- Aircraft Crew- None (The Aircraft is Semi-Autonomous)
- Length- 38.14 feet
- Empty Weight-6,349 kg(14,000 lbs)
- Aircraft Speed- Subsonic
- Cruise Speed- 0.45 Mach
- Range- 2,100 NM (3,890 kms)
- Weapons Bay- 2 compartments
But for the time being, it will take-off and land from Aircraft Carriers.
During its prototype testing, Engineers built its software interface and commands from scratch for the Controllers to command. A handheld device nicknamed the "Pickle" allows its operator to allow/deny final landing clearance to the Autonomous Aircraft to the aircraft carrier. For its tests, A very reliable and experienced pilot sat in the Plane's cabin but he never once touched its stick. He sat just for a precautionary measure. Once the Plane is on-board the Aircraft Carrier, it is no longer autonomous, a Technician veers the aircraft to its resting spot through a remote device developed by Northrop Grumman.
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| The X47B arrives on USS Harry S. Truman. |
Currently, Northrop Grumman has built and tested two X47Bs and further plans to increase it by 2014. Northrop Grumman has said that it is working on a technology, and by 2014, it will allow the Aircraft to refuel in the air autonomously. The project was initially funded by the Navy for $618 million in 2007, but has since then grown to more than $800 million.
But the real question still lies within, that will air crafts be pilot less and autonomous in the coming future.
I would like to close with this provocative thought :
"Remember,your weapon was developed by the lowest bidder."- Murphy's Laws of Combat.
Adios,
Editor.
Hi adeel.
ReplyDeleteGreat post you got there. It is interesting to read stuff which you don't know but after you read it it never escapes your head. Loved the post.Continue blogging.
Niranjan
Thanks for it man. I was in need for it. Encouragement :)
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