Unmanned Combat Aircraft Will Use GPS

Communications Today, May 28, 2002

Boeing's [BA] X-45A Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (ACAV) performed its first in-flight demonstration last Wednesday to mark the beginning of extensive flight-testing.

The X-45A will be equipped to use satellite and GPS technology in combat missions, said Erik Simonsen, manager of communications for Boeing Phantom Works.

The unmanned aircraft flew for 14 minutes at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The plane reached an air speed of 195 knots and an altitude of 7,500 feet. Flight characteristics and basic aspects of aircraft operations, particularly the command and control link between the aircraft and the mission-control station, were demonstrated successfully, Boeing said.

The aircraft was controlled using line of sight for its first test flight, since satellite communications were not needed to direct the plane above the Air Force base, Simonsen said.