Taxiing testing of Northrop Grumman's X-47A Pegasus experimental unmanned combat air vehicle is under way at the US Navy's China Lake test centre in California. The private-venture, flying-wing X-47A is designed to demonstrate aerodynamic qualities suitable for autonomous operation from aircraft carriers, as part of the company's naval unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV-N) programme.
Source: Flight International
The maker of uncrewed aircraft received an additional $9 million from the US Air Force Research Laboratory to continue development work of the experimental Off-Board Sensing Station jet, believed to be the basis for General Atomics’ bid for an autonomous aircraft capable of supporting crewed fighters.
A US think tank contends that drones will be critical to defending Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack and makes several recommendations for developing this capability.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) and Lockheed Martin are incorporating a Net-Enabled Weapons (NEW) capability into the MQ-9B SeaGuardian unmanned air vehicle (UAV).
