[Ricardo Nunes]

Robotic plane makes unmanned bombing run
Monday, April 19, 2004 Posted: 9:47 AM EDT (1347 GMT)

An unmanned X-45 aircraft built by Boeing releases a guided bomb on April 18 at a California weapons range.
 
 
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A robotic plane deliberately dropped a bomb near a truck at Edwards Air Force Base on Sunday, marking another step forward for technology the U.S. military hopes will one day replace human pilots on dangerous combat missions.

Under human supervision but without human piloting, a prototype of the Boeing Co.'s X-45 took off from the desert base, opened its bomb bay doors, dropped a 250-pound Small Smart Bomb and then landed.

The inert bomb struck within inches of the truck it was supposed to hit, Boeing said, adding that had the bomb contained explosives, the target would have been destroyed.

"It's absolutely a huge step forward for us. It shows the capability of an unmanned airplane to carry weapons," said Rob Horton, Boeing's chief operator for the mission. "From the video, you see the weapon going down and a huge cloud of dust and the truck shaking around."

The X-45A was preprogrammed with the target coordinates and used the satellite-based Global Positioning System to adjust its course.

Horton, who was sitting 80 miles from the target, authorized the drone to drop the bomb, which was released from 35,000 feet as the plane flew at 442 mph.

The military sees such aircraft taking part in its most dangerous missions, such as bombing enemy radar and surface-to-air missile batteries, in order to clear the path for human pilots.

The Y-shaped, tailless plane has a 34-foot wingspan and weighs 8,000 pounds empty. It is the first drone designed specifically to carry weapons into combat.

Other robotic planes, including the Predator spy drone currently being used in Afghanistan, have been modified to carry weapons.

Boeing hopes to build hundreds of the X-45 planes, which would cost $10 million to $15 million each.

 :roll:

[Normando]

O futuro será o envio de aeronaves não-tripuladas para cumprir as missões aéreas mais perigosas, como se disse aí no texto, de atacar centros de radar e instalações de mísseis anti-aéreos, e também, como já aconteceu no Afeganistão e Yémen, de bombardear alvos estratégicos (uma casa, um veículo) na perseguição a líderes terroristas. Mas não sei se concordo que isto seja o fim dos pilotos humanos - mesmo que daqui a muitos anos todas as missões de bombardeamento sejam feitas com aviões não-tripulados, será que ao nível dos caças isso será possível, mesmo com o desenvolvimento da tecnologia de I.A. ?

[Ricardo Nunes]

Concordo consigo a 100%. Haverá sempre necessidade de pilotos humanos. Aquela frase do meu conhecido é algo como uma piada, mas muito séria.

Se bem que a tendência seja para a operação de um número cada vez maior de UCAV e consequente retirada de aeronaves tripuladas existem missões que, pelo seu grau de complexidade e exigência, sempre necessitarão de uma aeronave tripulada.

Os UCAV serão excelentes armas para situações potencialmente mais perigosas como seja o início de um qualquer conflito ( com os UCAV não existe risco de perdas humanas ) mas, até hoje ( porque muito provavelmente isso irá ser possível ) é impossível substituir um piloto que tem o poder de tomar decisões instantâneas e de avaliação de situação no local. Os UCAV, por agora, são simplesmente programados e pilotados à distância. E, imaginando uma situação hipotética de combate aéreo, existe uma enorme diferença entre ter um piloto sentado numa cadeira a 3000 km do local de combate, e de ter um piloto dentro do avião, a pilotá-lo e com um "situational awareness" bastante superior ao "piloto de sofá".

Contudo temos que admitir que, retirando o piloto da equação, é agora possível criar aeronaves com uma capacidade de manobrabilidade impressionante.

[Rui Elias]

10 a 15 milhões de dólares cada?

Não me parecem demasiadamente caros, mas dada a característica e finalidades do aparelho, Portugal bem poderá dar prioridade a outros tipos de aquisição.

Mas para que se não perdesse a "corrida" não se poderia pensar em aviões destes para vigilância em situações de potencial conflito, programando-se a médio/longo prazo a aquisição destes ou outros aparelhos similares num número de 6?

Sempre poderia dar à indústria de defesa nacional (que está nas ruas da amargura) algum up-grade tecnológico, com o eventual concurso de universidades.

[Luso]

São baratos em comparação com plataformas clássicas.
Mas também os drones têm tendência a espatifar-se com demasiada frequência...

Hummm...

Um E-2c iluminando alvos ar-ar para os ucavs atacarem com amraam...
Ou outra nave mãe que os controlará...

Imaginem um airbus AEW com capacidade para 4 pilotos de ucav:

Os ucav fariam o rendez-vous com o AEW que depois tomaria o controlo operacional.

É pá!

Tenho que ir trabalhar para a LM!

[Ricardo Nunes]

Boeing X-45A Unmanned Aircraft Flies with T-33

ST. LOUIS, May 17, 2004 — A Boeing [NYSE: BA] X-45A unmanned aircraft took a major step forward in aviation when it successfully communicated with a manned T-33 aircraft while in flight May 7 at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

The Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) X-45A technology demonstrator exchanged data with the other aircraft through a capability called Fighter Data Link, a secure communications link used to electronically transfer digital information. Operating at 14,000 ft and 228 mph, the X-45A and T-33 maneuvered around each other and ensured they could maintain a solid communications link.

“Our first efforts at cooperative flight between the X-45A and T-33 went extremely well,” said Darryl Davis, Boeing Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems X-45 Program Manager. “This test allows us to push ahead to a huge milestone in our program’s history – flying both X-45A unmanned aircraft at the same time in coordinated flight.”

To achieve that goal, the program will soon fly the X-45A and T-33 with a ground operator managing both aircraft. The T-33 will be flown by on-board UCAS avionics that are coupled through an autopilot system. Following completion of that test series, a multiple-vehicle coordinated flight will take place this summer using both X-45A demonstrator aircraft.

The J-UCAS X-45 program is a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency/U.S. Air Force/U.S. Navy/Boeing effort to demonstrate the technical feasibility, military utility and operational value of an unmanned air combat system for both the Air Force and the Navy. Operational missions for the services may include suppression of enemy air defenses; deep strike; electronic attack, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $27 billion business. It provides systems solutions to its global military, government and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; the world's largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest satellite manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense; NASA's largest contractor; and a global leader in launch services.

[Fábio G.]

UCAV - Global Strike

A USAF adoptou o titulo Global Strike Enabler (GSE) para a sua versão
de veiculo de combate aéreo não tripulado (UCAV) que está a ser
desenvolvido pela Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
 O GSE significa que a USAF está disposta a encontrar uma missão
unica para o UCAV que não duplique aquela dos aviões tripulados.

[JLRC]

Boeing X-45A Unmanned Vehicle Controlled Via Satellite from 900 Miles Away  
 
 
(Source: Boeing Co.; issued Dec. 21, 2004)
 
 
 ST. LOUIS --- A Boeing X-45A unmanned aircraft was controlled by a pilot-operator in Seattle, Wash., after launching from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on Dec. 9.  
 
“This shows our military can deploy unmanned combat aircraft from one location and control them from another,” said Darryl Davis, Boeing Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) X-45 vice president and program manager. “We're moving quickly toward delivering a 24/7 strike and reconnaissance capability to complement America 's manned fighter and bomber force.”  
 
Using ‘line of sight' command and control, the technology demonstrator aircraft departed in the morning with a pilot-operator controlling the jet from its home in Southern California. Once airborne, the pilot-operator handed control of the unmanned vehicle over to another Boeing pilot in Seattle. Taking command of the X-45A using a UHF satellite communications (SATCOM) link, the Seattle-based pilot-operator demonstrated ‘beyond-line-of-sight' control by commanding multiple altitude and airspeed changes, which were executed by the vehicle.  
 
Operating from a systems integration lab nearly 900 miles away, the pilot-operator managed the jet for approximately six minutes before turning command back to the California-based team, which returned it to Edwards AFB safely after nearly an hour in the air.  
 
The test mission demonstrated safe and secure vehicle handoff from mission control to another control center through a SATCOM link. That capability will be critical when operating the X-45C, a more robust version of the aircraft being built in St. Louis.  
 
Boeing was recently awarded $767 million in funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to build and demonstrate three X-45C aircraft, two mission control elements, and to integrate a common operating system technology for the J-UCAS program. The first X-45C flight is scheduled to take place in early 2007.  
 
The J-UCAS X-45 program is a DARPA/U.S. Air Force/U.S. Navy/Boeing effort to demonstrate the technical feasibility, military utility and operational value of an unmanned air combat system for the Air Force and the Navy. Operational missions for the services may include suppression of enemy air defenses; strike; electronic attack; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and persistent global attack. The two X-45A technology demonstrators are currently verifying the core functionality of the software necessary for these and related missions.  
 
A unit of The Boeing Company, Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $27 billion business. It provides network-centric systems solutions to its global military, government and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems; the world's largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest satellite manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense and Department of Homeland Security; NASA's largest contractor; and a global leader in launch services.  
 
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