Northrop Grumman Wins UCAS Bid Over Boeing - UPDATED

In the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), the Department of Defense directed the Navy to “develop an unmanned longer-range carrier-based aircraft capable of being air-refueled to provide greater standoff capability, to expand payload and launch options, and to increase naval reach and persistence.”

On August 1st, 2007 the Navy chose Northrop Grumman to design the UCAS "to demonstrate critical carrier suitability technologies of a Low Observable-Platform Air Vehicle in a relevant environment." Navy Times reports:

Northrop Grumman has beaten a Boeing team as the Navy’s choice to develop the Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration — intended to prove the technology to provide the fleet’s aircraft carriers with a long-range pilotless jet strike aircraft.

The award of a $636 million cost-plus-incentive-fee development contract was announced by the Navy late Aug. 1.

The competition to develop the aircraft — also known as UCAS-N, for UCAS-Navy — was between Boeing’s X-45N and Northrop Grumman’s X-47B test aircraft. Northrop now will be the prime contractor to build and fly the new aircraft.

This is the next big step in developing the future combat capability of the US Navy Carrier force. A low-observable and air-refuelable carrier-capable unmanned combat air system (UCAS) is critical to taking that step through greater range, greater persistence, and improved stealth. While I don't believe the UCAS system will replace manned fighter interceptor roles or close combat support roles for decades, these systems are excellent options for long range carrier strike on fixed targets in the mid term, and the UCAS-N is an excellent augmentation to existing and future strike aircraft.


People who think the UCAS-N is a potential replacement near or even mid term for the Joint Strike Fighter have their expectations too high. While the technology exists for unmanned aircraft to carry out a variety of roles, the artificial intelligence technology to replace the manned requirement for decision making is several decades away. The Joint Strike Fighter will still be needed, and it should be noted the potential of integrating the UCAS-N, or attaching them to a Joint Strike Fighter flight will likely add a tremendous capability to Joint Strike Fighter pilots to identify targets well off the horizon, thus giving naval aviators a tremendous advantage against adversaries.

There are a couple of excellent backgrounders recently released on the UCAS issue by the Center for Strategic and Budgetery Studies (CSBA), in fact both pictures in this post are from these slides. This backgrounder is also an excellent read on the subject.

Update: David Axe is reporting Boeing may protest the decision. This could lead to delays in a program very familiar with delays.

Update 2: The Northrop Grumman media center website for the X-47B UCAS-N. A lot of good stuff including photos of the first model, movie, brochure, and fact sheet.