Update on X-47 UCAS-D Flight Testing (on Carrier)

The past month has seen the most significant milestones so far of the entire program...1st Carrier takeoff and Carrier landing. The testing is off Virgina coast on USS George H. Bush (CV77) aircraft carrier, but Pax River Navel Station MD is where landings also occur when they want to bring it into the hangar for overnight storage.
I think viewing the YouTube videos chronological is important if you haven't been a fan of this cool UAV of which only two prototypes exist.
I have worked on the Program development for 3 years. In 2007-2009 Moog Aircraft made the flight control actuation system. In 2012, I work for Northrop Grumman (prime contractor for program) in SoCal supporting Program Management. So I know quite a bit about it. Some questions shouldn't be answered so I won't go too deep.
1st Flight at Edwards:

After a rigorous ground-based flight test program at Edwards (with just one hydraulic brake system failure), both prototypes were dis-assembled and trucked to Pax River Naval Station and re-assembled in time for 1st Catapult launch and landing (they built a ground test catapult):

Here is the 1st carrier-based test with success:

Here is the 1st touch n' go landing, notice how fast it is going (136 mph) in order for the speed to aid "recovery" after touching deck:

Here is the 1st arrested landing vid:

I am pretty sure AV-1 is in all the above vids because there is a video of AV-2 lowered on Truman carrier last November:

So AV-2 is repeating the other intial test program, but on Truman:


Finally something to smile about in America.

Originally posted by Granite


Finally something to smile about in America.

Explain.

Why should I smile about another drone?

I watched a few of the videos, am I missing something?

It looks like it is supposed to be stealthy? I wonder if it uses the same electronic stealth systems as the B-2?

I think it would be pretty awesome to get to pilot one of those things.

Originally posted by Dustytoad
Why should I smile about another drone?

Especially one that cost $1.4 billion dollars...

Inside the “Cockpit” of X-47B

Ever wonder what it would be like to pilot a UAV like the Predator or the X-47b? Check out this video of a two person team in action.

globalbalita.com...

Below is quote from a write-up about how these things are piloted...

Here’s what the X-47B doesn’t do: think.Here’s what the X-47B does: It takes off and lands by itself with input from computers and sensors aboard the carrier as well as input from humans on the carrier. Everything it does in between takeoff and landing is executed by the aircraft’s onboard flight computer. But it’s not controlled by the onboard computer.

Where Predator and Reaper drones are remotely piloted by humans with hands on a control stick, the X-47B is operated by humans using keyboard commands and mouse clicks. The operator tells it to go to a certain point on the map, and the X-47B pilots itself there. The onboard computer handles the actual piloting--the banking of the airplane to set a path from point A to point B, for instance--but the human operator is ultimately in control of where it goes and what it does.

About The X-47B

Originally posted by Granite

Originally posted by Dustytoad

Originally posted by Granite


Finally something to smile about in America.

Explain.

Why should I smile about another drone?

I watched a few of the videos, am I missing something?

Obviously, you don't understand (or care about) aviation milestones in history:
1. It has no tail and is landing on a moving carrier.
2. It re-fuels autominously in the near future.

I think you would have more contribution in another forum and off my thread...

Obviously nothing.. You don't know me. Obviously I was asking you to explain your thread. I was asking you to explain why YOU care about this drone..

Understand?

What makes this happy and something to smile about?

1) (lands with no tail) I don't care about that and it does have a tail in my view.
2) (refuels autonomously) [spelling] Means what? It grabs jet fuel and pumps it into it;s system by it's self? In the air? On the ground?

Just explain more. You misinterpret me knowing little about what you are talking about for hostility.

All you have to do is explain what your emotions are.
Why do you like it?
Why did you supposedly work on it?

reply to post by Dustytoad


It's moving a number of technologies forward, that will have uses in other fields, as well as military uses. Both aircraft autonomously made the decision to abort landings on the carrier after they detected faults in systems (one was a navigation fault in one of three computers, the other wasn't specified). The landings they both made were all done autonomously, if we had that technology in commercial aircraft, Asiana 214 may not have happened. There are other systems that will be usable in future air traffic control systems, as well as datalinks from aircraft to the ground, etc. A lot of the things tested here are exciting to see, and will help make flying safer in many ways.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
reply to post by Dustytoad

 

It's moving a number of technologies forward, that will have uses in other fields, as well as military uses. Both aircraft autonomously made the decision to abort landings on the carrier after they detected faults in systems (one was a navigation fault in one of three computers, the other wasn't specified). The landings they both made were all done autonomously, if we had that technology in commercial aircraft, Asiana 214 may not have happened. There are other systems that will be usable in future air traffic control systems, as well as datalinks from aircraft to the ground, etc. A lot of the things tested here are exciting to see, and will help make flying safer in many ways.

Thanks for that, but I was asking the OP to explain the OP..

I want more human involvement in systems, especially weapons systems, not less..

I don't like this whole change to move human responsibility and involvement away from everyday life.. Consciousness is doing.. That's literal.. Do nothing and there is nothing..

By the way... None of this sounds new to me at all.. It just sounds like faster processor speeds with faster data input..

Robots, even flying ones, are heartless. They will never know what they have done or what they havn't done and even if they do "know" they won't know what knowing means.

Still I want granite to explain himself about this topic.
"Finally something to smile about in America" I've been smiling a long time in America, but never about drones.

Do you guys not see the future? The only human worth will be in imagination to control future machines. This leaves 99% of the human population useless monetarily in a capitalist society. Provide that solution and maybe I will get excited..

reply to post by Dustytoad


This is far beyond faster processor speeds and simple improvements. This is leading to the future resupply helicopter the Navy wants to begin in 2020. That aircraft will be able to recognize ground threats, and move out of their way without any input from anyone on the ground. All the operator will do is program the bases it's supposed to fly to to resupply, and it will decide the route, and avoid any potential threats on the ground.

All this is going to go far beyond the military uses, into our every day life eventually, like so many other programs the military developed that we take for granted now.

Originally posted by Murgatroid

Originally posted by Granite

Originally posted by Dustytoad

Originally posted by Granite
Finally something to smile about in America.

Why should I smile about another drone?

Obviously, you don't understand (or care about) aviation milestones in history:
1. It has no tail and is landing on a moving carrier.
2. It re-fuels autominously in the near future.

I think you would have more contribution in another forum and off my thread...

Dusty's question was a valid one...

The fact that you insulted him instead of answering the question makes it very obvious to me that YOU don't understand (or care about) the real purpose behind these "aviation milestones".

Thank you.

Nevermind.....

wow guys back on topic...Its a good topic for us to discuss, behaving ourselves. As weve seen with the X-47, A.I. is just around the corner. With the next round of bombers/fighters, I bet alot of the autonomity that we see in drones will be incorproated into other planes. For example, a super hornet pilot not being able to land on a carrier in high seas, he can flip a switch and let a computer that can process info faster than the pilot land the jet.