Boeing Phantom Ray Unmanned spy aircraft coming

Boeing Phantom Ray, an unmanned aircraft (UAV) for defence purposes is in the works.

Update: Boeing Phantom Ray unveiled (photo)!

The Boeing Phantom Ray is expected to have its lab tests later this year and the first flight in 2010, Boeing said. The Phantom Ray technology demonstrator is being developed by a Boeing unit called Boeing Phantom Works.

The Boeing Phantom Ray aircraft prototype is being built and developed for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the US Air Force and the US Navy Joint-Unmanned Combat Air System program.

Boeing X-45 UAV; Phantom Ray based on the X-45 spy UAV platform

Once the Boeing Phantom Ray UAV test flights start, it will test capabilities for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The Boeing Phantom Ray UAV is designed for aerial refuelling, suppressing enemy air defenses, electronic attacks and hunter-killer capabilities.

Photo: Boeing unmanned aircraft X-45 on which the Phantom Ray is based

The Boeing Unmanned Combat Air System program began with the X-45A aircraft, which was flown 64 times between 2002 and 2005. Those UCAS flights included a demonstration exercise with two X-45A UAV aircraft that marked the first unmanned, autonomous multivehicle flight under the control of a single pilot. Boeing also designed a larger UCAS aircraft, the X-45C, which will serve as the basis for the Phantom Ray demonstrator.
A Boeing Phantom Works official said that the Phantom Ray UAV project goals underline the company’s focus on rapid prototyping. Speed and agility will be critical to the Phantom Ray project, he said. “We have mobilized our assets to continue the tremendous potential we developed under J-UCAS, and now will fully demonstrate that capability,” he said about the Boeing Phantom Ray project.

Boeing Phantom Ray has picked up from the UCAS project which ended three years back. Boeing expects the Phantom Ray to be an advanced fighter-sized, state-of-the-art aerospace system.

The Phantom Ray UAV first flight is scheduled for December 2010. Over a period of 6 months, the Phantom Ray will have ten test flights.

Dave Koopersmith, vice president of Boeing Advanced Military Aircraft, a division of Phantom Works said that the Phantom Ray will sport the latest aviation and defence/attack technologies into the proven X-45C airframe design.

The Phantom Ray project, handled by Boeing’s Phantom Works, comes under Boeing’s, Integrated Defense Systems. The Boeing IDS is one of the world’s largest space and defense businesses. IDS specialises in novel customer solutions. Boeing claims IDS is the world’s largest manufacturer of military planes. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32 billion business with 70,000 employees worldwide.