The X-47B is a tailless, strike fighter-sized unmanned aircraft currently under development by Northrop Grumman as part of the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D) program.

In August 2007, the U.S. Navy selected Northrop Grumman as the prime contractor for the Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) program. The program will demonstrate the first-ever carrier launches and recoveries, and autonomous aerial refueling by an autonomous, low-observable-representative unmanned aircraft.

To date, Northrop Grumman has designed and built two tailless, fighter-sized unmanned aircraft designated the X-47B. The company will use these aircraft to demonstrate two “firsts” for unmanned jet-powered aviation: autonomous carrier operations – including launch, recovery, and deck handling – and autonomous aerial refueling using both the U.S. Air Force “boom-receptacle” and Navy “probe and drogue” methods.

First flight of Air Vehicle-1 (AV-1) occurred on Feb. 4, 2011 with a flight test envelope expansion program planned to conclude in late 2011. First flight of AV-2 is also planned for 2011. Over the next two years, the program will conduct additional flights and carrier suitability tests that will lead to the completion of the Navy’s carrier launch and recovery objectives by 2013. Successful at-sea trials will set the stage for potential follow-on acquisition programs for carrier based unmanned systems.

Variants:

X-47A: Original proof-of-concept prototype with a 19-foot (5.9-m) wingspan, first flown in 2003
X-47B: Demonstrator aircraft, first flown in 2011
X-47C: Proposed larger version with a payload of 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) and a wingspan of 172 ft (52.4 m)