Northrop Grumman X-47B

X-47B UCAS-D
X-47B UCAS-D
	An X-47B demonstrator over the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Test Range
General information
Type	Unmanned combat aerial vehicle; Technology demonstrator;
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Northrop Grumman
Status	Active
Primary user	United States Navy
Number built	2
History
First flight	4 February 2011
Developed from	Northrop Grumman X-47A Pegasus

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 as part of DARPA's 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 US 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 themselves were intended to become museum exhibits after completing flight testing, but the Navy later decided to maintain them in flying condition pending further development.