Boeing X-46

Artist's Impression of an X-46 landing on a carrier

The Boeing X-46 was a proposed unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) that was to be developed in conjunction with the U.S. Navy and DARPA as a naval carrier-based variant of the Boeing X-45 UCAV being developed for the U.S. Air Force. Two contracts for technology demonstrators were awarded in June 2000, to Boeing for the X-46A and to Northrop Grumman for the X-47A.

However, in April 2003, the Air Force and the Navy efforts were formally combined under the joint DARPA/USAF/Navy J-UCAV program, later renamed J-UCAS (Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems), and the X-46 program was terminated as redundant.

The J-UCAS program was later terminated.[1]

A Navy-only N-UCAS demonstrator program started in the summer of 2006.[2] Boeing will use material developed for the X-46 and X-45 to propose the X-45N as a naval UCAV demonstrator.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Uncertainty Engulfs Pentagon's Unmanned Aircraft Plans". Aviation Week and Space Technology, 13 September 2002.
  2. ↑ "Navy UCAS Program Set To Be Launched Within Weeks". Aviation Week and Space Technology, 21 July 2006.
  3. ↑ "Bids are in for U.S. Navys UCAS-D". Aviation Week and Space Technology, 1 April 2007.

External links

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