Increased Test Productivity Lifts Off With First Flight of Second Northrop Grumman-Built X-47B Unmanned Aircraft

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Nov 28, 2011 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) — Northrop Grumman Corporation  and the U.S. Navy will be able to increase the pace and productivity of the X-47B flight test program following the successful first flight Nov. 22 of the second air vehicle developed for the Navy’s Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D) program. The tailless, autonomous aircraft known as Air Vehicle 2 (AV-2) took off under hazy skies from Edwards Air Force Base at 12:43 p.m. PST, climbed rapidly to an altitude of 5,000 feet, flew several racetrack patterns over Rogers Dry Lake, then landed safely at 1:12 p.m. “The successful addition of AV-2 to the fleet of X-47B test aircraft provides a critical inflection point for the UCAS-D program,” said Carl Johnson, vice president and UCAS-D program manager for Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems sector. “With two aircraft now available, we can increase the amount of aircraft performance data we gather, which will allow us to meet our required aircraft capability demonstration goals in a timely manner.” The availability of two test aircraft is particularly important, added Johnson, for helping the program maintain a satisfactory flight test rhythm as it begins transitioning X-47B aircraft to Naval […]
Increased Test Productivity Lifts Off With First Flight of Second Northrop Grumman-Built X-47B Unmanned Aircraft