X-47B bat-winged unmanned aircraft – Maiden flight

The US Navy X-47B UCAS-D (Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration) successfully completed its first flight at Edwards AFB on February 4, 2011.

The flight which was conducted by a US Navy/Northrop Grumman test team, lasted 29 minutes. The flight test was aimed to provide test data to check the system software for guidance and navigation, and the aerodynamic control of the tailless drone. The X-47B is deemed to safely take off from, and land on the deck of an aircraft carrier.

Other flight tests should be performed to validate the airworthiness of the drone in Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NAS Pax River), Maryland till 2013. Here is the maiden flight video:

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P-791 – Experimental hybrid fly-by-wire airship

The Lockheed Martin P-791 – say « Pi-seven-ninety-one » – is a hybrid air vehicle as she is an actual multirole aircraft. She can be an aerostatic, aerodynamic, manned, unmanned, cargo, all-terrain and ISR (Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance) airship as shown in the video below:

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British UCAV demonstrator – Taranis

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X-47B – US NAVY Joint UCAS-D to be unveiled late 2010

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