MigBuster 2,884 Posted April 18, 2015 X-47B has completed first contact with an aerial refueling hose. On Apr. 16, “Salty Dog 502″, one of the two Unmanned Carrier Air Vehicle demonstrator (UCAS-D) aircraft of the X-47B program performed autonomous aerial refueling (AAR) test, plugging the in-flight refueling (IFR) probe into the hose of aOmega Air tanker off the coast of Maryland. The AAR in set to be the last for the two X-47B stealth killer drone technology demonstrators (the other being “Salty Dog 501″): with the end of this testing phase the two unmanned aircraft will be retired and probably donated to a museum or stored at the “boneyard”, the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. In fact the X-47B is “just” a technology demonstrator and, as such, it’s till quite different from the planned Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Launched Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS). In spite of calls to extend testing on the Northrop platforms, the costs to reconfigure the two X-47B in such a way to let them behave more like the Navy’s preferred option for UCLASS would be prohibitive. http://theaviationist.com/2015/04/16/salty-dog-502-aar-omega-air/ 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Do335 382 Posted April 18, 2015 (edited) SKYNET Aerial Node Prototype Edited April 18, 2015 by Do335 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
B52STRATO 215 Posted April 18, 2015 SKYNET Aerial Node Prototype 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nesher 628 Posted April 18, 2015 it's amazing how technology is advanced these days... that's epic!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skyviper 1,101 Posted April 18, 2015 This is awesome! Is it me or has like the last ten years or so have just blown up with all kinds of tech that only Star Trek featured. I'm going to lie the moment I saw the iPad I shouted (That's a real Datapad from Star Trek) yeah I'm silly like that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Viggen 644 Posted April 19, 2015 I think it's safe to say the X-47B has rewritten the rulebook. In just a few years it's done more to advance the concept of a UCAS than the 60-70 years of unmanned flying it followed. I'm actually kind of sad the two aircraft are being retired. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MigBuster 2,884 Posted April 23, 2015 You saw the photo now see the video Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
