X-47B

The Northrop Grumman X-47B is a demonstration unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) designed for aircraft carrier-based operations. Developed by the American defense technology company Northrop Grumman, the X-47 project began under the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) as part of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) program, and subsequently became part of the United States Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) program. The X-47B is a tailless jet-powered blended-wing-body aircraft capable of semi-autonomous operation and aerial refueling. The X-47B first flew in 2011, and as of 2015, its two active demonstrators had undergone extensive flight and operational integration testing, having successfully performed a series of land- and carrier-based demonstrations. In August 2014, the U.S. Navy announced that it had integrated the X-47B into carrier operations alongside manned aircraft, and by May 2015 the primary test program was declared complete. The X-47B demonstrators were intended to become museum exhibits after completing flight testing, but the Navy later decided to maintain them in flying condition pending further development.

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