Boeing X-45A unmanned combat vehicle on display

Air Force Links ^ | Sarah Swan

[SandRat]

11/14/2006 - DAYTON, Ohio (AFPN) -- The Boeing X-45A unmanned combat air vehicle was officially inducted into the National Museum of the United States Air Force collection during a ceremony Nov. 13.

"The X-45A is a prime example of an air vehicle that points to the future of our Air Force," said retired Maj. Gen. Charles D. Metcalf, museum director. "Unmanned aerial vehicles are increasingly being used, and we are excited to show the public the giant step that has been taken with these aircraft."

The Boeing X-45A served as a scaled-down, advanced technology demonstrator for a project conducted by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency and the U.S. Air Force. The goal was to demonstrate the technologies needed to conduct suppression of enemy air defense missions with unmanned combat air vehicles.

In September 2000 Boeing's "Phantom Works" completed the first of two X-45A UCAVs, using research gathered from its manned Bird of Prey aircraft. After extensive ground testing, the first X-45A completed its first flight May 22, 2002 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and the second vehicle followed in November.

During its test program, the X-45A accomplished a number of significant events in aviation history. On April 18, 2004, the X-45A demonstrator hit a ground target with a 250-pound, inert, precision-guided weapon released from its internal weapons bay. On Aug. 1, 2004, for the first time, one pilot-operator successfully controlled two X-45As in flight simultaneously.

This X-45A replaced the museum's previous display of a UCAV model.

More information about the X-45A or the National Museum of the United States Air Force, go to http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is located on Springfield Pike, six miles northeast of downtown Dayton. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days per week (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day). Admission and parking are free.

[SandRat]

DAYTON, Ohio - Boeing X-45A J-UCAS on display in the Cold War Gallery at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo)

[SandRat]

FR WAR NEWS!

WAR News You'll Hear Nowhere Else!

All the News the MSM refuses to use!

[rottndog]

One question about UAVs--how hard would it be to jam the remote control signals?

[Tulsa Ramjet]

18 billion for a cropduster? WE'VE BEEN ROBBED!

[buccaneer81]

My son and I go to the USAF Museum at least twice a year. Outside of the National Air and Space Museum, it's the best display of air and spacecraft in the US.

[SandRat]

Good question,..... I'd bet it would be extremely difficult. Wouldn't be surprised if there's embedded managed frequency hopping and crypto.

[SandRat]

If you ever get out to Tucson Arizona be sure to take in the Pima Air and Space Museum then take in the Aircraft Bone Yard tour ad Davis-Montham AFB.

[Dan Evans]

One question about UAVs--how hard would it be to jam the remote control signals?

It might be pretty tough. They use techniques that use very broadband and redundant signals with pseudo-random frequency shifting. It would take a lot of RF power to overwhelm these systems.

[knarf]

Takeoff !

[ken5050]

Wouldn't it be easier, cheaper, and far more practical to build very smart cruise missiles? Indeed, is there a big difference between the two? That's not a rhetorical question..go ahead..think about it..as a bombing platform...as opposed to lurking/lingering and waiting for a target of opportunity...why aren't we putting MORE resources into upgrading cruise missiles?

[Veloxherc]

There is a wing of the museum that has a lot of X-planes and old Air Force ones, including The Sacred Cow. They are on the base and you need an military ID to get to it. The Valkyrie is there too. I think the plan is to expand the place and have all the plans at the main museum.

I did have the honor of attending a MOH ceremony at the Air Force Museum. It was for Pitsenbarger (sp?). He was a PJ during Vietnam. It is an amazing story about what he did to deserve the MOH; they gave it to him posthumously like most MOH recipients.

[PUGACHEV]

I've always wondered not about the control signals being jammed, but rather about the delay between the signal from the plane to the remote controller and then back to the plane again, especially if goes through a satellite link. Wouldn't this make the unmanned plane slower, and put it at a disadvantage if it were fighting a manned plane?

I suppose you might wire in some automatic responses to cover typical maneuvers, just like some of our own reflexes, the ones we use often, go only to our spine and back to save a little reaction time. Does anyone know how these things are programmed?

[MaxMax]

We are. I actually went to a customers house today that
was a rocket/missile scientist for Raytheon Corp.

He couldn't speak much about anything. Unfortunately.

[rightwingextremist1776]

Wouldn't this make the unmanned plane slower, and put it at a disadvantage if it were fighting a manned plane?

One of the main advantages of unmanned fighters is their ability to pull Gs far greater then their maned counterparts. Being smaller, lighter, with far more capability to stress the airframe makes them a lethal adversary air to air.

[knews_hound]

My Dad was a docent there for years. I cannot agree more, it is an amazing place.

Cheers,

knewshound

http://www.knewshound.blogspot.com/

[Myrddin]

UAVs are re-used over and over. Cruise missiles are fired once at a target. No re-use. The entire investment goes boom. Hopefully on the desired target, but you never get a second bite at the apple for the money expended.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

So what your saying is not only these crafts will be used for surveillance, or watching a battleground, or launching missiles, but, one day, it will be used for air to air combat dog fighting ?
I was wondering ? if tech gets so advanced, would there ever be a time were close air dog fighting will be a thing of the passed ?

[Prophet in the wilderness]

To bad they can't make a modular unit with wings and body like a cruse missile, and has a another part of the unit that is the payload, and once it get's near the target, it separates ( the ordnance part ) and flys to the target or just like dumbbombs with fins.... but, then again, with UAVs, this is moot.
Is there or was there cruse missiles that had the capability to take off from a runway autonomously and reach it's target ?

[greasepaint]

people need to keep reality in mind, when discussing
unmvnned combat aircraft.

The army wants to have horses,
the navy wants to bring back sails,
the air force wats to bring back the open cockpit.

a lot of the claims the air force uses to resist UAVs
are just BS.

how much does a F-22 cost, 100 million?

that same money will buy how many
'Made in China' UAVs?

[Billthedrill]

...how hard would it be to jam the remote control signals?

Impossible if there aren't any, or rather any that count. Two words here - "limited autonomy" - the holy grail of the UAV community. We're a few years out yet...or maybe not. You'd need some serious clearances to know for sure.