Second-generation X-47B multi-role drone uses AI for takeoff and landing

Northrop Grumman has successfully tested the second-generation X-47B multi-role attack unmanned aerial vehicle. It can autonomously take off and land, and also perform some tasks without the need for operator intervention, thanks to the capabilities of the on-board computer.

The X-47 was developed under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency J-UCAS project and is part of the US Navy’s UCAS-D program. The goal of the program is to create an unmanned aircraft capable of taking off from aircraft carriers.

In 2013, the X-47B successfully took off from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS George W. Bush for the first time and then successfully landed on the same deck. In 2014, a video was published of the takeoff and landing on the deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, as well as a demonstration of the automatic folding of the X-47B wings on the deck after the flight.

The take-off procedure for the X-47B drone is carried out as part of a standard queue, immediately after the F/A-18s take off from the deck. In 2015, the X-47B performed the first-ever fully automatic mid-air refueling procedure.

Tactical and technical characteristics of the X-47B drone:

• Crew: none
• Length: 11.64 m
• Wingspan: 18.92 m
• Height: 3.16 m
• Empty UAV weight: 6350 kg
• Maximum take-off weight: 20215 kg
• Payload weight: 2000 kg
• Engine: 1× Pratt & Whitney F100-220 turbojet
• Thrust: 8074 kg (79.1 kN)
• Maximum speed: 990 km/h
• Cruising speed: 535 km/h
• Range: 3900 km
• Maximum flight altitude ceiling: 12 km
• Armament: 2 x JDAM
• Sensors: EO/IR/SAR/GMTI/ESM/IO