The X-47B is a single-engine, multi-role, carrier-capable unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) developed by American aerospace firm Northrop Grumman. The company built two, both as demonstrator vehicles able to perform autonomously or semi-autonomously. The platform evolved from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) program. Northrop Grumman engineered the aircraft to be able to operate either from land or from aircraft carriers, and to perform a range of missions. These include collections of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) data, electronic warfare, and light surface attack and strike operations.
The X-47B took its first flight on February 4, 2011 and successfully completed a series of unmanned aviation firsts. These include the first unmanned aircraft to be catapult launched from an aircraft carrier; the first unmanned aircraft to perform a touch-and-go on an aircraft carrier that was underway; the first arrested landing of an unmanned aircraft on an aircraft carrier; the first simultaneous operation of an unmanned aircraft and a manned aircraft from an aircraft carrier; and the first autonomous aerial refueling operation, among other milestones.
The X-47B features a blended-wing, tailless design that has a number of low-observable traits, including visual, acoustic, thermal, and radar cross section. It has two weapon bays that in total can accommodate up to 4,500 pounds of ordnance. The aircraft measures 38 feet, 2 inches in length, stands 10 feet, 5 inches tall, and has a wingspan of 62 feet, 1 inch (that folds to 30 feet, 11 inches for stowage). The UCAV is powered by a single Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220U turbofan engine that delivers up to 15,000 pounds of thrust. It has a range of 2,400 miles, a service ceiling of 42,000 feet above sea level, and it cruises at up to 685 miles per hour.
