Northrop Grumman Tests Unmanned X-47B Flight with Pratt Whitney’s Engine

Northrop Grumman has tested the first flight of X-47B aircraft, which uses the F100-PW-220U engine and exhaust system from Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies company.

The testing is part of the Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D) programme of the US Navy and was conducted in the Edwards Air Force Base. The aircraft, which is also known as the Air Vehicle 2 (AV-2) flew for a period of 30 minutes as part of the testing programme.

The F100-PW-220U engine has the capacity to provide a thrust of 16,000 lbs and has been designed for maritime operations such as carrier deck operations. The testing of the X-47B flight not only proves the durability of the engine and the exhaust system but also serves as an important milestone in the UCAS-D programme. The programme will begin transitioning both the test aircrafts to Naval Air Station Patuxent River to carry out shore-based testing by early 2012. The unmanned combat air system is likely to have carrier demonstrations by 2013.

Pratt & Whitney acquired the contract to integrate the exhaust system into the engine for the X-47B flight during 2008. The F100-PW-220U engine has been modelled after the F100-PW-220 and 220E engines which run the F-16 Falcon and F-15 Eagle has an operational experience of more than 12 million hours. The propulsion system of the engine was also tested during the X-47B testing flight programme.