Robot Aircraft Carrier Drone on Futureweapons - Part 2 of 2

THE X-47B IS PART OF NORTHROP GRUMMAN'S UNMANNED-COMBAT AIR SYSTEMS, OR UCAS PROGRAM, FOR THE U.S. NAVY. THE MISSION WAS TO BUILD A FIGHTER-SIZE STEALTH, PERSISTENT-LOITERING UNMANNED AIRCRAFT FOR CARRIER-BASED INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE MISSIONS. IN 2011, IT WILL FLY FROM A CARRIER. NORTHROP GRUMMAN HAS BEEN MAKING UNMANNED SYSTEMS FOR DECADES. GLOBAL HAWK'S INCREDIBLE SUCCESS HAS PROVEN THAT THE FUTURE BATTLEFIELD NEEDS UNMANNED AIRCRAFT TO PERFORM THESE MISSIONS. AND FIRE SCOUT, A HELICOPTER FOR THE NAVY'S LITTORAL COMBAT SHIPS, CAN ACTUALLY LAND AND TAKE OFF FROM A SHIP AT SEA. USING THIS TECHNOLOGY, THEY HAD THE TOOLS TO DESIGN AN AIRCRAFT THAT COULD LAND SUCCESSFULLY AT SEA, AND THEY HAD AN ACE UP THEIR SLEEVE. BUT THEY HAVE ONE MAJOR ADVANTAGE. COMPUTERS -- THEY HAVE NO FEAR. THE CHALLENGES ARE NOT REALLY INSURMOUNTABLE. IT IS THAT THE AIRPLANE PICKS UP A MILLIMETER WAVE AT ABOUT 6 NAUTICAL MILES AND STARTS RIDING THAT DOWN. TO THE COMPUTER, RUNNING AT 100hz LOOPS, IT'S LIKE WATCHING AN HOUR HAND RUN. IT SEES ALL THE WIND CHANGES, SEES ALL THE MOVEMENT OF THE CARRIER. IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW DARK THE NIGHT IS, WHAT THE WINDS ARE, HOW BAD THE WEATHER -- THE COMPUTER'S UNAFRAID, KNOWS WHERE THE CARRIER IS, KNOWS THE MILLIMETER WAVE IT SHOULD BE ON, KNOWS HOW TO DO THE LANDING. AT MISSION CONTROL, A SIMULATOR REPRODUCES AND TESTS EVERY ASPECT OF FLYING THE X-47B. ALL YOU NEED IS A COMPUTER AND A MOUSE. ALL RIGHT, TIGHE. YOU GOT A MISSION FOR ME? WE SURE DO. YOU'LL BE THE MISSION OPERATOR TODAY, MACK. AND WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS TAKE OFF FROM NAVAL AIR STATION NORTH ISLAND HERE IN SAN DIEGO AND FLY A MISSION OUT TO THE CARRIER, CONCLUDING WITH A CARRIER LANDING. USING ADVANCED SOFTWARE, THE AIRCRAFT IS INSTRUCTED TO MAKE THE APPROPRIATE FLIGHT-CONTROL MOVEMENTS TO ENABLE IT TO TAKE OFF, FLY, AND LAND. THESE COMMANDS ARE CONTROLLED BY A MISSION OPERATOR. THIS, ESSENTIALLY, IS MY DISPLAY -- THESE TWO SCREENS. THIS IS THE DISPLAY THAT THE MISSION OPERATOR WILL USE TO COMMAND THE AIRPLANE AND, ALSO, TO RECEIVE FEEDBACK OF HOW THE AIRPLANE'S DOING. AND IT ALSO IS WHERE YOU DEVELOP YOUR SITUATIONAL AWARENESS OF WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR THE MISSION. SO, NOW I CLICK ON "LAUNCH"? WE'LL DO LAUNCH. WE'LL DO SEND. AND THINGS ARE GONNA START TO HAPPEN HERE FAIRLY QUICKLY. I SEE THE ENGINE'S REVVING UP. AND YOU CAN SEE THE AIRPLANE ROLLING DOWN THE RUNWAY HERE. YOU CAN ALSO SEE THE AIRSPEED COME UP. AND WE'LL ROTATE AROUND 160 KNOTS AND GO FLYING. SHOULD BE LIFTING RIGHT NOW. HERE WE GO. WE'RE AIRBORNE. THE DISPLAY MAPS SHOW NAVIGATION AIDS AND THE ROUT THAT THE AIRCRAFT WILL FOLLOW. ALL THE WAYPOINTS ARE PRE-PLANNED, SO, ONCE AIRBORNE, THE X-47B WILL MAKE ITS WAY TO THE DESTINATION ALL BY ITSELF. TESTING THE SOFTWARE IS ONE THING. THEY'VE ALSO CREATED A MECHANICAL VERSION CALLED THE IRON BIRD, WHICH IS MONITORED CLOSELY BY A TEAM OF ENGINEERS. THE BEST THING OF ALL IS, IT'S ALL LINKED UP TOGETHER, SO OUR ENGINEERS HERE ON ONE OF OUR TEST-MISSION REHEARSALS CAN WATCH WHAT'S GOING ON ON THE SCREEN, AND THEN OTHER ENGINEERS IN THE IRON BIRD CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE FLIGHT CONTROLS MOVING. EVERY LITTLE COMMAND THAT'S MADE BY THE OPERATOR GETS TRANSLATED DOWN TO THIS RIG, AND IT SIMULATES EVERY MOVE THAT THE AIRCRAFT HAS TO MAKE. THE SYSTEM PROVES BEYOND A DOUBT THAT THE BIRD WOULD BEHAVE EXACTLY AS IT SHOULD BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY BUILD IT. WE'RE GONNA BE MAKING OUR LEFT TURN HERE. THE CARRIER IS ABOUT 2 1/2 MILES AWAY. AND, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'VE DESCENDED DOWN TO ABOUT 800 FEET. WE'RE GONNA DROP THE TAIL HOOK AND THEN THE LANDING GEAR AND DO OUR FINAL APPROACH TO THE CARRIER. PUT THE TAIL HOOK DOWN, AND YOU KNOW HOW TO DO THAT. SHOULD I PUT THE LANDING GEAR DOWN FIRST? PUT THE TAIL HOOK DOWN FIRST. THAT'S THE SEQUENCE THAT YOU DO. AND SEND THAT TO THE AIRPLANE, AND WE'LL WATCH THE HOOK COME DOWN. AS THE X-47B APPROACHES THE CARRIER, FINAL LANDING COMMANDS ARE RECEIVED FROM THE CARRIER'S AIR-TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTER. UNLIKE MANNED AIRCRAFT, WHO RECEIVE VOICE AND VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS, ALL COMMANDS TO THE X-47B ARE RECEIVED THROUGH DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS. WITH SO MUCH AT STAKE, THEY'VE GOT TO GET IT RIGHT. COMPUTERS -- ONE OF THE UNIQUE THINGS PEOPLE NOTICE IS, YOU CAN FLY THE AIRPLANE MUCH MORE PRECISELY THAN A PILOT CAN MANUALLY, NO MATTER WHAT HIS SKILL LEVEL. AND, AS AN EXAMPLE HERE, WE HOOK THIS AIRPLANE IN. WE DROVE IT IN A MUCH TIGHTER PATTERN THAN A MANNED AIRPLANE WOULD. WE'VE CUT ABOUT 1/3 THE DISTANCE OFF. YOU'RE USING FUEL MORE EFFICIENTLY. ALL OF THE OTHER THINGS ARE USED MORE EFFICIENTLY. AND THE CARRIER IS INTO THE WIND FOR MUCH LESS TIME, TO REDUCE ITS RISK. LET'S TURN OUR ATTENTION HERE AS WE GET READY TO CROSS THE RAMP. YOU CAN SEE THE FLIGHT CONTROLS -- THE SPOILERS, THE ELEVONS, AND THE AILERONS. THEY'RE MAKING TINY ADJUSTMENT. THE LSOs ARE CONTROLLING IT NOW. THEY LIKE WHAT THEY SEE. AND WE'VE GRABBED A WIRE. CONGRATULATIONS. WITH THE X-47's STEALTH CONFIGURATION, SUPERIOR SENSORS, AND POWERFUL WEAPONS PACKAGES, THE NAVY WILL BE ABLE TO REACH OUT AT SUCH GREAT DISTANCES AND DOMINATE BATTLE SPACES THAT WERE ONCE COMPLETELY DENIED. WHEN THE X-47B IS FIT FOR DUTY IN 2018, IT WILL ALLOW THE NAVY TO ASSERT ITS PRESENCE LIKE NEVER BEFORE.