Mar 27, 2013 10:00 AM

One of These 'Bots Will Be the Navy's Next Killer Drone

Northrop Grumman, Boeing, General Atomics and Lockheed Martin are set to square off in a contest to build the first drone to operate off an aircraft carrier.

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The Navy's future robotic air wing is taking shape. On Tuesday, the sailing branch announced that it will pay four companies to hand over the technical specs for their various designs for the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike system (UCLASS), a stealthy, jet-powered killer drone meant to operate off an aircraft carrier and fly alongside the latest manned fighters. The move clears the way for the Navy to pick one of the four designs to form the backbone of one of the most ambitious drone efforts ever. Boeing, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman all "have credible, existing, comprehensive, UCLASS design solutions," the Navy said in its formal announcement. The sea service wants each company to produce a working prototype for a competitive fly-off "to support fielding a UCLASS capability within three to six years," likely to occur in mid-2014. The Air Force is also considering buying whichever 'bot the Navy picks -- finally giving the Pentagon the stealthy, jet-powered armed drone of its dreams. With potentially billions of dollars at stake -- not to mention the chance to shape the military's future aerial arsenal -- all four companies began working on their designs years ago. When the Navy picks its winner, probably in 2015, one of the following four designs, each with its unique strengths, will become America's next killer drone.

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Of the four killer drone candidates, Northrop Grumman's X-47B (pictured above) is the clear frontrunner. Since 2011, the 62-foot-wide batwing 'bot has been flying tests for the Navy under a $2 billion precursor program to UCLASS, one meant to prove that high-performance drones can function on carrier flight decks. The Navy is already familiar, even comfortable, with the X-47B. Colloquially, it calls the 'bot the "Iron Raven," a nod to the old Grumman Iron Works and how it seems to have a raven's beak when viewed in profile. In the second week of May, the Navy plans to launch the X-47B from the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush in the Atlantic, marking the first time a robot has ever taken flight from a carrier at sea. But the X-47B, a descendent of an earlier killer drone with its roots in the late 1990s, is possibly the least stealthy of the competitors, owing to Northrop's decision to build the drone big, thick and tough. Those qualities help it survive forceful carrier landings, but also make it a big target for enemy radars. Navy Capt. Jamie Engdahl, manager of the drone test program, described it as "low-observable relevant," a careful choice of words copping to the X-47B's relative lack of stealth. Spencer Ackerman contributed reporting. Photo: Navy

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