Patuxent River, MD — Testing of the X-47B Unmanned Aerial System is continuing at Patuxent River Naval Air Station (NAS).
The Navy awarded a $64 million contract modification to Northrop Grumman in June 2014 to continue X-47B CVN and AAR research, development, test and evaluation efforts at NAS Patuxent River.
According to program officials, “If resources allow, the Navy may demonstrate autonomous engagement flight testing in fiscal year 2015.”
NAVAIR and Northrop Grumman conducted AAR testing with a surrogate aircraft in January 2012 to test the X-47B software that allows the test plane to mimic the interaction between the tanker and the aircraft receiving the fuel, but stops short of a mid-air refueling.
“The X-47B will use a hybrid GPS/vision-based relative navigation system in conjunction with its autonomous flight control system to establish and maintain a precise distance between tanker and the receiver aircraft,” according to a statement from Northrop Grumman
Presently, one of the two Pax River X-47Bs is being configured for the aerial refueling capability.
Contact Mike Wilson at news@thebaynet.com