Future Carrier (Including Costs)

[Modern Elmo]

If the aircraft are more than 100 miles off the coast then they will need AAR (based reasonably locally), in which case you could base the ac at the same place as the AAR ac, so no need for a carrier. If the carrier needs to be less than 100 miles off-shore, then it is probably too dangerous to put a 3 Billion pound asset in that position...so why buy it in the first place???



Navy Wants NG X-47B To Demo Aerial Refueling



Dec 8, 2008
By Graham Warwick


Northrop Grumman will modify the second X-47B naval unmanned combat air system demonstrator (UCAS-D) to allow autonomous aerial refuelling (AAR) using both U.S. Navy probe-and-drogue and U.S. Air Force boom-and-receptacle methods.

The U.S. Navy has announced plans to award the company a sole-source contract to support the demonstration of AAR capability by 2013, saying the X-47B is the only carrier-suitable unmanned aircraft capable of the task.

AAR would extend the surveillance and strike reach of a 2020-timeframe naval UCAS (N-UCAS) well beyond that of manned aircraft and allow carriers to engage land targets while staying out of range of anti-ship ballistic missiles.


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Navy Wants NG X-47B To Demo Aerial Refueling | AVIATION WEEK