Multi-role attack drone for US aircraft carriers Key Features Overview

The X-47B is a multi-role attack drone manufactured by Northrop Grumman, the second generation of the X-47 series. The drone is capable of taking off and landing, as well as performing some tasks without operator intervention, using the capabilities of the onboard computer.

According to BuildingTECH, the X-47 was developed as a Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency J-UCAS project, part of the US Navy's UCAS-D program. This program aims to create an unmanned aircraft capable of taking off from an aircraft carrier.

In 2013, the X-47B took off for the first time from the deck of the aircraft carrier George W. Bush and landed on the same aircraft carrier.

In 2014, the US Navy released a video of the takeoff and landing on the deck of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, as well as the automatic folding of the X-47B wings on the deck after flight.

The drone takes off in a standard burst mode immediately following the takeoff from the deck of an F/A-18s fighter. In 2015, the X-47B performed the first-ever fully automatic mid-air refuelling procedure.

Performance characteristics of the X-47B:

• Crew: no
• 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: 12 km
• Weapon: 2 x JDAM
• Sensors: EO/IR/SAR/GMTI/ESM/IO