The Boeing X-46 was a proposed unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) that was to be developed in conjunction with the United States Navy and DARPA as a naval carrier-based variant of the Boeing X-45 UCAV being developed for the U.S. Air Force. Two contracts for technology demonstrators were awarded in June 2000, to Boeing for the X-46A and to Northrop Grumman for the X-47A.
| X-46 | |
|---|---|
 Artist's impression of an X-46 landing on a carrier | |
| General information | |
| Type | Unmanned combat aerial vehicle |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Boeing Integrated Defense Systems |
| Status | Cancelled |
| Primary user | United States Navy (intended) |
| Number built | 0 |
| History | |
| Developed from | Boeing X-45 |
However, in April 2003, the Air Force and the Navy efforts were formally combined under the joint DARPA/USAF/Navy J-UCAV program, later renamed J-UCAS (Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems), and the X-46 program was terminated as redundant.[1]
A Navy-only N-UCAS demonstrator program started in the summer of 2006.[2] Boeing will use material developed for the X-46 and X-45 to propose the X-45N as a naval UCAV demonstrator.[3]
References
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- ^ "Uncertainty Engulfs Pentagon's Unmanned Aircraft Plans" Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine. Aviation Week and Space Technology, 13 September 2002.
- ^ "Navy UCAS Program Set To Be Launched Within Weeks" Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine. Aviation Week and Space Technology, 21 July 2006.
- ^ "Bids are in for U.S. Navys UCAS-D" Archived 2012-02-05 at the Wayback Machine. Aviation Week and Space Technology, 1 April 2007.
External links
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