August 28, 2007:
As U.S. Air Force officers long
feared, a foreign country has now shown a prototype of a combat UAV (or UCAV,
Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle). A Russian firm recently displayed its MiG Skat
("Skate") which looks very similar to the U.S. X-45A.
The U.S. Navy and Air Force have invested over a
billion dollars, so far, in developing combat UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles)
that can operate from airfields and aircraft carriers, and replace some of the
manned aircraft currently in service. Final design and construction of the full
size X45C combat UAV was cancelled last year, when the air force pulled out of
the project. The X-45C was supposed to have its first flight this year. The
navy is now taking over the project, while the air force reconsiders its
options.
The smaller X45A spent two years doing flight tests
and serving as a test bed for the flight control software. The X45A was
intended just for development. The navy is developing carrier landing software
alone. This will be one of the most technically difficult aspects of the
project. Landing on a carrier is very difficult, especially at night and in bad
weather. Carrier landing software has already been tested, but in manned
aircraft, with pilots ready to take over at any moment. So far, these tests
have been successful, but the acid test will be a UCAV actually landing on a
carrier, without a human on board as a backup.
The X45A had passed tests for formation flying, and
dropping a JDAM (actually the new 250 pound SDB version). The X45C was to carry
eight SDB (small diameter bombs), or up to 4500 pounds of other JDAMs. The X45C
was to, and may still, undergo several years of development before entering
service. The X-45C was designed to weigh 19 tons, have a 2.2 ton payload and be
39 feet long (with a 49 foot wingspan.) The X-45A is 27 feet long, has a
wingspan of 34 feet and has a payload of 1.2 tons. The X-45C wiould be able to
hit targets 2,300 kilometers away and be used for bombing and reconnaissance
missions. Each X-45C would probably cost about $30 million, depending on how extensive,
and expensive, its electronic equipment will be.
The MiG Skat looks a lot like the X-45C "flying
wing" design. This shape was meant to make the UAV more stealthy. Currently,
the Skat is only a full size mockup, but the Russians say they will have a
flying prototype in the air within two years. American UCAV proponents have
long warned that it was only a matter of time before other nations began
developing armed UAVs. The time has come, and Russia will sell their UCAVs to
anyone. Now the U.S. Air Force will have to prepare to deal with hostile UCAVs.