USAF and Navy testing Unmanned Aircraft and Helicopter

USAF and Navy testing Unmanned Aircraft and Helicopter

The U.S. Air Force began demonstrating the next generation of air combat training and testing aircraft last week, completing the first flight of a converted F-16 jet with no pilot in the cockpit. 

(QF-16 takes off remotely piloted at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. Photo, courtesy of Master Sergeant J. Scott Wilcox.)

The QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target, a retired F-16 jet modified to fly as an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), completed a series of simulated maneuvers, including supersonic flight, prior to landing autonomously. The QF-16 is the result of a 2010 $70 million Department of Defense (DoD) contract awarded to Boeing to convert six early-generation F-16 jets into full-scale aerial targets. 

To convert the F-16 to a remotely piloted aircraft, Boeing installs new electronic control equipment that allows the jet to be operated via data links from a ground control station. 

“It was a little different to see it without anyone in it, but it was a great flight all the way around,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Ryan Inman, commander, 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron. “It’s a replication of current, real world situations and aircraft platforms they can shoot as a target. Now we have a 9G capable, highly sustainable aerial target.”

By converting retired F-16 jets to the QF-16 configuration, Boeing allows fighter pilots to train against actual fighter jets with live weapons. The development could also lead to production of unmanned fighter jets remotely piloted from the ground. 

Navy's First MQ-8C Unmanned Helicopter Completes Ground Testing

The U.S. Navy's first MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter completed ground testing and engine runs during its initial testing Friday at Naval Base Ventura Country Point Mugu, Calif. 

(MQ-8C Fire Scout at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu, Calif., on Sept. 20 to prepare the system for flight operations. Photo, courtesy of Northrop Grumman.)

Northrop Grumman engineers powered up the aircraft's rotor blades for the first time Friday, as the company looked to collect enough data to ensure the Scout's systems are functioning properly ahead of its upcoming first flight. 

"Completion of these tests signifies our steady progress toward the first flight of the MQ-8C Fire Scout," said George Vardoulakis, vice president of medium range tactical systems at Northrop Grumman.

(Northrop Grumman test engineers conduct the first engine runs of the MQ-8C Fire Scout. Photo, courtesy of Northrop Grumman.)

The US Navy currently has the company under contract to produce an MQ-8C for deployment beginning next year. According to a spokesperson for Northrop Grumman, the first flight of the MQ-8C is scheduled for October.  

Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 takes to the skies: Air NZ the first customer

Dreamliner 787-9

A longer version of Boeing's Dreamliner made its first flight, passing a key milestone for a plane that should be more profitable both for Boeing to sell and for its customers to operate than the current production model.

Orders have been places by several carriers, Air New Zealand being the first, also Canada, Japan, KLM, Air France, Virgin, and others

The 787-9 jet, which left the ground at 11.02 am local time has room for 290 passengers, 40 more than the original 787-8 jetliner, and has about 300 more nautical miles (555km) of range.

That means Boeing can charge US$37.7 million ($45.8 million) more for the plane at list price, and airlines can sell more seats on longer routes.

Boeing has unfilled orders for 936 Dreamliners, worth about US$217 billion at list prices, or nearly eight years worth of production at its target construction rate of 10 per month, which it aims to hit by year's end.

About 41 per cent of the orders, or 388 planes, are for the 787-9.

Boeing began selling an even longer version of the jet, the 787-10, in June. It has garnered 50 orders so far. The rest of the orders are for the 787-8.

In its maiden voyage on Tuesday, the 787-9 will fly for about five hours, running detailed tests of its flight controls, part of a nine-month testing program.

The aircraft used for the tests will eventually be delivered to Air New Zealand in mid-2014, Boeing said.

An hour behind schedule, in overcast weather, the jet rose smoothly before TV crews, reporters and thousands of Boeing employees, who watched from an adjacent runway. The flight began at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, near Boeing's main 787 assembly lines, and is due to end at Boeing Field south of Seattle, near Boeing's 737 factory.

The jet was scheduled to fly at a speed of up to 250 knots and altitude of 16,000 feet if the two test pilots aboard feel it is safe, Boeing said.

The jet will fly over Puget Sound and then head inland to Moses Lake, Washington.                                 (Reuters)