‘Line of Sight’ test brings out tactical side of X-45A

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Brooke Davis
  • Air Force Flight Test Center Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) --  Joint-unmanned-combat-air-systems test team officials here successfully demonstrated a transfer of command and control using line-of-sight capabilities on two unmanned X-45A aircraft Jan. 27.

The test followed the successful Dec. 9 sortie that transferred control of the aircraft to a control station nearly 900 miles away and back again.

The line-of-sight flight test is a major milestone in Block 3 software testing geared more toward tactically demonstrating the unmanned aerial vehicle's distributed command and control capabilities, officials said.

"This demonstration is asking the airplanes to be more tactical," said Sam Kim, test conductor. "Once the planes have been handed off from the primary pilot, the pilot in the area of responsibility or threat area, will manage both aircraft and direct one of them to capture radar images."

After maneuvering to capture the images, the pilot in the area of responsibility will transfer command and control of the aircraft back to the primary pilot, Mr. Kim said.

Although the pilot in-theater was located only 100 feet away from the primary ground station at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Dryden facility here, this flight demonstrated the tactical flexibility of a distributed command and control system where control of multiple air vehicles could be passed on to other ground stations, officials said.

The two unmanned aircraft remained inside Edwards' airspace during the test, Mr. Kim said.

In the Dec. 9 sortie, testers demonstrated the system's first beyond line-of-sight flight that transferred aircraft control from a pilot at NASA Dryden to another pilot at Boeing's Seattle facility, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency officials said.

During this test, the Seattle pilot sent four airspeed and altitude command changes to the aircraft, all of which were successfully executed, agency officials said.

Although the recent flights have been testing Block 3 software, program officials said they expect to receive Block 4 software to begin testing and validating.

The Block 4 software will increase the X-45A's capabilities, said 1st Lt. Devon Christensen, X-45A deputy program manager.

Currently, X-45As can fly autonomously in coordinated flights while engaging one target.

With Block 4 software, the unmanned aircraft can fly autonomously in coordinated flights while engaging multiple targets, said Roy Smith, test site manager.