The Case For The X-47B

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (April 22, 2015) The Navy’s unmanned X-47B receives fuel from an Omega K-707 tanker while operating in the Atlantic Test Ranges over the Chesapeake Bay. This test marked the first time an unmanned aircraft refueled in flight. Photo: USN

Mackenzie Eaglen & Bryan McGrath, Real Clear Defense: Future Warfare: The X-47B

Pentagon leaders often speak of the need for disruptive technologies in the Fleet to mitigate the risks of shrinking defense budgets, declining U.S. military technological superiority and improving adversary capabilities. Last week, a remarkable example of disruptive innovation occurred. How did the Navy react? It simply reaffirmed its unimaginative plan to send its carrier-launched drone to the boneyard—and potentially sentence the aircraft carrier to a similar fate.

The Navy’s test carrier drone, the X-47B UCAS-D (Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator), recently participated in the first-ever fully autonomous aerial refueling at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. Though the implications of this engineering feat are wide-ranging and not wholly known at this point, successful demonstration of unmanned aerial refueling does shed light on several ongoing arguments about the future of U.S. military aviation.

WNU Editor: I am one of those who still feels uncomfortable with the idea of having your air service being primarily unmanned .... especially going against adversaries who have the capability of jamming and/or hacking these weapons platforms (like the Russians and Chinese). But the trend is to go this way, and while the X-47B may end up in the "boneyard" .... new models and versions will take its place.