Title: Navy Unveils New Bat-Winged Stealth Bomber; Unmanned X-47B is Military's Deadliest New Drone (VIDEO) Source:
NY Daily News URL Source:http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat ... _is_militarys_deadliest_n.html Published:Feb 7, 2011 Author:Philip Caulfield- DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITE Post Date:2011-02-07 19:03:22 by Murron Keywords:None Views:416
Navy Unveils New Bat-Winged Stealth Bomber; Unmanned X-47B is Military's Deadliest New Drone (VIDEO)
BY Philip Caulfield- DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
The Navy's new X-47B made its maiden flight at Edwards Air Force Base in California on Friday. Watch video below An unmanned, bat-winged stealth bomber made its first demo flight in California, marking the first step in the Navy's development of a new generation of killer drones.
The experimental warplane, named the X-47B, took off from Edwards Air Force base, shot to 5,000 feet and flew a racetrack pattern over a dry lakebed during the 29-minute demo flight on Friday, the Navy said in a statement.
"Today we got a glimpse towards the future as the Navy's first-ever tailless, jet-powered unmanned aircraft took to the skies," said Capt. Jaime Engdahl, the program manager for the plane, said in a statement.
Military leaders see the plane as a major shift from the current fleet of robotic aircraft.
Combat drones are usually controlled remotely by human pilots, but the X-47B can carry out extended missions controlled by a computer and is designed to fly faster and farther than existing jets, like the Predators and Reapers used in Afghanistan.
It's also the first drone capable of taking off and landing aboard an aircraft carrier in the ocean.
Slightly smaller than the B-2 stealth bomber, the X-47B carries laser-guided bombs and can fly at 40,000 feet at speeds faster than 500 miles per hour.
Friday's test flight was just a taste of the fighter's capability.
The Navy and the plane's designer, Northrop Grumman, have planned 50 more test flights throughout the year.
The first plane will complete testing in late 2011, and a second will begin testing shortly thereafter, the Navy said.
Northrop built the warplane as part of a $636 million contract awarded by the Navy in 2007.
Last month, the Navy held a secret test flight of a massive new spy plane with a wingspan that approaches a Boeing 747's.
That plane, the hydrogen-fueled Global Observer, can fly for a week at a time at 65,000 feet and can capture an area larger than Afghanistan at a single glance.
