The test X-45A showed that unmanned planes flying on their own could effectively target enemy air defenses (also known as Suppression of Enemy Air Defense or SEAD). Originally, the program was created under the watch of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) but was subsequently taken over by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy. In testing, the stealthy X-45A made numerous record-breaking marks on history in aviation.
Boeing’s highly classified “Phantom Works” program delivered the first X-45A prototype in September of 2000. This clandestine endeavor used the clandestine research brought from the Bird of Prey project, an activity cloaked in mystery and ingenuity. The first flight of the X-45A became a reality in May of 2002, and a second vehicle joined the airways later that November, exhibiting the rapid progress of the program.
A milestone achievement was witnessed in April 2004 when the X-45A made a successful hit at a ground target employing an inert precision-guided weapon. Another milestone achievement had been made by August of the same year when a single pilot-operator had successfully operated two X-45As in flight.
Yet it was 2005 that witnessed the capability of the X-45A truly awe-inspiring. Charged with a programmed SEAD mission to destroy simulated Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) systems, the UCAVs were met with an unplanned surprise: an unlisted SAM site. Showing great decision-making capabilities, the onboard software of the planes quickly realigned their tactics, allocating target duties according to their tactical locations, firepower, and fuel capacities. This drill discovered a successful denouement following the pilot operator, stationed at Edwards AFB, California, endorsing and sanctioning the attack plan formulated by the aircraft’s sophisticated algorithms.
The Boeing X-45A was capable of carrying up to eight Small Diameter Bombs in its armament bays, a testament to its large payload capacity. Powered by the Honeywell F124-GA-100 turbofan engine, delivering 6,500 pounds of thrust, the UCAV had a cruise speed of approximately 610 mph, a service ceiling of 40,000 feet, and could carry a top payload of 4,500 lbs.
The Information Directorate Technical Director Marc Pitarys of the Air Force Research Laboratory further stated, Our answer is to merge command and control information with unmanned air vehicles such that human operators have situational awareness and decision aids necessary to annihilate targets. The future UCAV system will allow for operators who are remotely distant from hostile threats to achieve effects in the battlespace with a ‘point-click-kill’ capability.
