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US Navy Very Large Drone

Note the mission of operating off an aircraft carrier.

Boeing

https://www.boeing.com/resources/boe...anav_70x52.jpgMQ-25

Boeing's MQ-25 is ready

https://www.boeing.com/resources/boe..._1_310x215.jpg

Boeing is bringing the future of unmanned aircraft carrier aviation to the U.S. Navy with its MQ-25. An unmanned aircraft system designed for the U.S. Navy mission, it will provide the needed robust refueling capability thereby extending the combat range of deployed Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, Boeing EA-18G Growler, and Lockheed Martin F-35C fighters.

Our aircraft is ready for the mission, the flight deck and the U.S. Navy. Boeing has been delivering carrier aircraft to the Navy for more than 90 years – we know the flight deck. Our MQ-25 brings the right combination of refueling, autonomy, and seamless carrier deck integration to deliver a solution that meets the U.S. Navy’s goals: put a low-cost unmanned aerial refueling aircraft on the flight deck as soon as possible.

Boeing’s MQ-25 is ready.

Cubic to support Boeing's MQ-25 unmanned tanker for the US Navy
by Staff Writers
San Diego CA (SPX) Apr 23, 2019http://www.spxdaily.com/images-hg/un...tingray-hg.jpg
File image of a MQ-25 Stingray variant.

Cubic Corporation reports its Cubic Mission Solutions (CMS) business division has been awarded a contract by The Boeing Company to supply its Wideband Satellite Communications (SATCOM) modem system and Line-of-Sight (LOS) Common Data Link (CDL) system for the MQ-25 unmanned aerial refueling program."Our resilient, wideband communication solution will enable the MQ-25 to conduct its missions safely and securely," said Mike Twyman, president of Cubic Mission Solutions. "We are thrilled to continue our support of Boeing's innovative design for this critical platform."The MQ-25 is the U.S. Navy's first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft and is designed to provide a much-needed refueling capability. The contract supports Boeing's engineering and manufacturing development program to provide four MQ-25 aircraft to the U.S. Navy for initial operational capability by 2024."The MQ-25 program is vital because it will help the U.S. Navy extend the range of the carrier air wing, and Boeing and our industry team is all-in on delivering this capability," said Dave Bujold, Boeing's MQ-25 program director. "The work we're doing is also foundational for the future of Boeing - where we're building autonomous systems from seabed to space."This latest contract will help support more than 30 jobs for Cubic, which is a data link supplier to a range of U.S. Navy defense programs.

These Unmanned Aircraft are operating from carriers, air to air refueling - two of the most difficult piloting tasks, and will lead the way to reduced manning and eventually autonomous passenger aircraft. That is if they are not beaten to it by Urban Air Mobility autonomous aircraft from

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Originally Posted by Ian W (Post 10456376)

You may find the following of interest. If the accuracy is as stated along with the weather conditions, the system would def. be of benefit to passenger aircraft also.

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Raytheon pitches USAF on F-35A auto-landing system

20 September, 2018
SOURCE: FlightGlobal.com
BY: Garrett Reim
Washington DC

After successfully integrating its Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) on F-35B fighters and a growing number of US Navy aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, Raytheon is pitching a modified version of the system to the US Air Force for auto-landing F-35A aircraft at expeditionary airfields.

The company is in talks with the USAF on how exactly the service would like a portable system configured to automatically land the Lockheed Martin F-35A on remote airfields without traditional instrument landing systems. Such airfields may have difficult approaches due to surrounding mountains, bad weather or potential enemy fire.

Raytheon says it is building a Humvee portable version of JPALS which could be transported to expeditionary air bases aboard a C-130J transport and set up in 60 to 90 minutes. The system would be able to manage 50 different aircraft making different approaches within a radius of 20nm.

JPALS is a GPS-guided system that is secured with an anti-spoofing, anti-jamming data link. The program is already uploaded onto all versions of the F-35. Raytheon is aiming to add it to legacy aircraft as well, though the company hasn’t yet secured any contracts to do so.

Initially designed to help a pilot land on an aircraft carrier in poor visibility or after long, tiring flights, the auto-landing system can put down an aircraft in a 20cm by 20cm box, says Raytheon.

“It was so precise that when they were testing it that they were having to move around the touchdown point on the aircraft carrier because the deck was getting worn out by the tail hook hitting the same spot,” says Brooks Cleveland, Raytheon’s senior aviation advisor for precision landing systems.

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Boeing has been delivering carrier aircraft to the Navy for more than 90 years – we know the flight deck.

Really????

You don’t think it’s a bit harder to land on a moving carrier than a fixed runway? It will be doing 10 to 30 knots speeds compounded with the deck heaving up and down and even rolling. I suspect that requires data links and software a order of magnitude more complex than a autoland to a fixed point.

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Originally Posted by Sailvi767 (Post 10456864)

You don’t think it’s a bit harder to land on a moving carrier than a fixed runway? It will be doing 10 to 30 knots speeds compounded with the deck heaving up and down and even tolling. I suspect that requires data links and software a order of magnitude more complex than a autoland to a fixed point.

the Navy has had ACLS Automatic Carrier Landing System) in ops for decades

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Boeing has been delivering carrier aircraft to the Navy for more than 90 years – we know the flight deck.
Really????

https://www.boeing.com/history/

https://www.militaryfactory.com/airc...rcraft_id=1137

That's quite a large drone

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Originally Posted by Bloggs

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Boeing has been delivering carrier aircraft to the Navy for more than 90 years – we know the flight deck.

Really????

No, not really...

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Originally Posted by Capn Bloggs (Post 10457037)

No, not really...

if you consider Boeing, McDonnel Douglas, Boeing then it works....

current “knowing the deck” is nearly exclusively due to the McDonnel Douglass acquisition. With a long line of F-18, F-4, A-4, early jets, WWII props, etc.

Any public figures on how much fuel it can offload?

Sshhh! Don’t tell BEagle as AAR Pilots have just been automated. Just like Navigators and Air Engineers have been over the past 10-15 years.

Seems strange that the stealthy looking thing is the tanker not the striker!

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Originally Posted by ironbutt57 (Post 10456880)

the Navy has had ACLS Automatic Carrier Landing System) in ops for decades

They do have ACLS, it’s vastly more complex than a ground based autoland and I don’t think has ever demonstrated a high enough level of operational readiness for a unmanned aircraft. In addition it can’t be used if the boat is operating in a combat Mode with no emitters online.

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Originally Posted by Capn Bloggs (Post 10456817)

Boeing has been delivering carrier aircraft to the Navy for more than 90 years – we know the flight deck. Really????

Yes, really. Boeing's first carrier aircraft was the Boeing Model 15, known in USN service as the FB. The F1B was Marine Corps only (land based only) and the F2B was designed for the carrier Langley. The F2B went into service in 1925. That's 94 years ago. The F2B was followed by the F3B (Boeing Model 74 USN bomber) which flew in 1928, 91 years ago, and served aboard Langley, Saratoga, and Lexington and served well into the mid 30s. The F4B (Boeing Model 89) was developed essentially at the same time as the F3B and shared its engine, but was a much smaller and lighter pure pursuit aircraft. So 90 years ago Boeing already had 3 different aircraft operating from USN carriers. And 89 years ago Boeing produced USN's first monoplane, the F5B.

And that completely ignores the countless Douglas carrier aircraft that were built starting in the 1930s. So between heritage Boeing, Douglas, and McDonnell (all of which are now Boeing), Boeing aircraft have been predominant aboard USN carriers from the very beginning of carrier aviation till the present.

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Originally Posted by orca (Post 10457484)

Seems strange that the stealthy looking thing is the tanker not the striker!

I can forsee a future where the unmanned tanker goes downrange with the strike package, further than the manned tankers do today, to be able to increase time on station or radius of action for the strike package. It could also be very useful for electronic warfare and data information sharing.

Stop smoking that stuff, Ken. All those Boeing F thingees were props and stopped flying over 70 years ago.

Just because you buy out a competitor only a spiv would call them "your" aeroplanes. You didn't design them, you didn't build them and you can't claim they're yours. Boeing Fake News.

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Originally Posted by Capn Bloggs (Post 10461254)

Spiv? Oh my. You're taking this rather personally. The fact is, 90 years ago Boeing (not Douglas, not McDonnell) had already designed and built three different USN carrier aircraft. The fact they were biplanes and prop driven is totally beside the point. There were bleeding edge at the time and operating from carrier decks. And 89 years ago Boeing (not Douglas, not McDonnell) designed and built USN's first monoplane. Now Boeing has designed and are building USN's first operational carrier drone

Now, if I were to include Douglas, then the first Boeing USN carrier aircraft was the Douglas DT, which flew 98 years ago. And USN's first twin engine carrier aircraft, the Douglas T2D, flew 92 years ago.

Perhaps taking a deep breath before reading and posting would help your mood. Good luck with that.