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The Pentagon's plans for developing and eventually fielding unmanned aircraft capable of delivering munitions in high-risk battle scenarios once again are undergoing a structural change. What once was known as the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems, or J-UCAS, program is shifting from a joint Air Force and Navy program to one led solely by the Navy. The program is intended to develop and test the technologies necessary to field fleets of unmanned aircraft capable of operating on their own to attack and shut down enemy air defenses. Created in 2003, the original program merged the separate efforts of the Air...

The next generation of unmanned weapons systems entered a new phase this fall with the transition of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems, or J-UCAS, program from the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, to a joint Air Force-Navy management team. The program is intended to develop and test the technologies necessary to field fleets of unmanned aircraft capable of operating on their own to attack and shut down enemy air defenses. The full effect of the transition is not yet known, as funding and program decisions remain to be settled with the fiscal year 2007 budget. Created...

ST. LOUIS, August 10, 2005 – Two Boeing [NYSE: BA] Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) X-45A unmanned aircraft successfully completed a graduation exercise when they flew their most challenging simulated combat mission today at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. "We pushed the X-45As to their limits and they responded brilliantly," said Darryl Davis, Boeing Global Strike Solutions vice president. "This incredible X-45A program made aviation history and laid the foundation for our X-45C, which will become a critical weapon in our military's arsenal." For test flights 63 and 64, the X-45As departed from the...

ST. LOUIS, May 11, 2005— Boeing [NYSE: BA] successfully completed a key Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) X-45C system requirements review with its DARPA, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy customers. The review was a joint assessment that allows Boeing to continue executing the J-UCAS Capability Demonstration Program (CDP). During the two-day review, Boeing provided a comprehensive X-45C system analysis verifying it has incorporated the customers’ performance requirements into the aircraft. A final design review will occur later this summer. “This review confirms the X-45C system we designed and are building is on track and is the right solution...

ST. LOUIS, November 18, 2004 - The Boeing [NYSE: BA] Company accepted the first two engines for the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) X-45C aircraft program Nov. 10 in a ceremony held at a General Electric plant in Lynn, Mass. Boeing is building three X-45C aircraft in St. Louis as part of the J-UCAS program. Each of the aircraft will be powered by a single F404 engine. "With the F404 engine, the X-45C will be able to fly a combat radius of more than 1,200 nautical miles, cruise at 0.80 Mach, reach altitudes of 40,000 feet and carry...

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) - Two unmanned jets being developed as a robotic combat system made a coordinated flight under the control of a single pilot-operator, Boeing researchers said Tuesday. Sunday's joint flight marked the first time such a feat was accomplished, according to Boeing Integrated Defense Systems of St. Louis. The X-45A jets took off four minutes apart from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, joined up above the test range and flew formations that involved autonomous maneuvering to hold their positions relative to each other. Both jets then landed on a common...

EDWARDS AFB - A century after the first airplane flew with a pilot on board at the controls, a new generation of aircraft is emerging that removes the pilot from the vehicle altogether. These unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, are the next wave in military and commercial flight systems, performing tasks that are too dangerous, tedious, strenuous or otherwise unsuitable for manned aircraft. As it has been through its long history of flight test, Edwards Air Force Base is at the epicenter of this latest trend in aviation, using its unique combination of facilities and talent to further the field....

April 21, 2004: The U.S. Air Forces X-45A combat UAV (UCAV, or unmanned combat air vehicle) dropped it’s first smart bomb on April 19th. During the test, the X-45 was flying at 35,000 feet, and moving at about 700 kilometers an hour. The bomb was an SDB (Small Diameter Bomb), a new type of smart bomb that weighs only 250 pounds (and is six inches in diameter and six feet long). A human operator on the ground authorized the release of the bomb when the X-45 signaled that it was within range. The bomb, which carried no explosives, hit the...