| Phantom Eye | |
|---|---|
| Role | High Altitude, Long Endurance Unmanned aerial vehicle |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| Status | In development |
The Boeing Phantom Eye is a high altitude, long endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle hydrogen-powered spy plane developed by Boeing Phantom Works [1]
The aircraft is Boeing’s proposal to meet the demand from the US military for unmanned drones designed to provide advanced intelligence and reconnaissance work, driven by the combat conditions in Afghanistan in particular.[2]
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The Phantom Eye is an evolution from Boeing’s earlier success with the piston-powered Boeing Condor that set several records for altitude and endurance in the late 1980s.[3]
Boeing has worked closely with Ball Aerospace, Aurora Flight Sciences, Ford Motor Co. and MAHLE Powertrain to develop the Phantom Eye.[3]
Construction on the Phantom Eye was started in March 2010 after its propulsion system successfully completed an 80-hour test in an altitude chamber on March 1, clearing the way for the propulsion system and the aircraft body to be assembled.[3]
The Phantom Eye was revealed to the press at a ceremony at Boeings facilities in St Louis, Missouri, on 12 July 2010.[1]
The demonstrator will be shipped to NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, for ground tests in July and August.[4]
The aircraft’s first flight, expected to last 8 hours, is scheduled to take place early in 2011.[4]
The Phantom Eye demonstrator is a 60%-70% scale design of an objective system. According to Darryl Davis, president of Boeing’s Phantom Works advanced concepts group, the Phantom Eye demonstrator could lead to an objective system capable of achieving 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week coverage of an area year round with up to four aircraft.[4]
The Phantom Eye demonstrator has a 150-foot (46 meter) wingspan. Boeing claims that it can fly for more than four days at a time at altitudes of up to 65,000 feet.[3]
Boeing also claims that the Phantom Eye demonstrator will be able to carry a 450 pound payload and have a cruising speed of 150 knots.[3]
Each of the two propulsion systems consist of modified Ford 2.3 liter engines, reduction gearbox, and 4-blade propeller. The engines were originally designed for use with the some models of the petrol-burning Ford Fusion car. To be able to run in the oxygen starved atmosphere at 65,000 ft, the engines feature a multiple turbocharger system that compresses that available low density air and reduces the radiated infrared heat signature to increase it's stealth properties. [5]
The engines, which provide a claimed 150 horsepower at sea level, have been tuned so as to be able to run on hydrogen.[5] The Boeing marketing department claims that this will make the aircraft economical and “green” to run, as the only by-product will be water (not including emissions created in the production of the hydrogen).[5]
The Phantom Eye has no armament and has been built for “persistent intelligence and surveillance" rather than combat.[1]
Boeing also is developing a larger HALE that will stay aloft for more than 10 days and carry payloads of more than 2,000 pounds (900 kg), and building “Phantom Ray,” a fighter-sized UAV that will be a flying test bed for advanced technologies.[3]
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