March 18, 2011 - Less than a month after completing the first flight of the U.S. Navy's X-47B UCAS-Demonstration aircraft, flight test engineers from Northrop Grumman Corporation and the Navy have successfully completed the aircraft's second and third flights. 

The flights, both conducted at Edwards Air Force Base, mark the beginning of a process called envelope expansion during which the test team will begin proving that the tailless aircraft can perform safely over a broad range of altitudes, air speeds and operating weights. 

During the X-47B's 39-minute second flight on March 1, the aircraft flew to an altitude of 7,500 feet at speeds up to 200 knots. During its 41-minute third flight on March 4, the aircraft reached an altitude of 7,500 feet and a top speed of 180 knots. By comparison, the X-47B flew only to 5,000 feet at a top speed of 180 knots during its first flight Feb 4.

Northrop Grumman and the Navy expect to complete the planned 49-flight envelope expansion program at Edwards Air Force Base before moving the first X-47B to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., later this year, he added. 

One of the most important measures of performance, Saunders explains, is aircraft stability. The X-47B, which relies on high-speed computers to manage its flight control surfaces, must be able to adjust quickly and automatically to unpredictable environmental conditions such as air turbulence or cross winds. The recent test flights included a series of maneuvers designed to measure the aircraft's ability to maintain a smooth, level flying state in the presence of such conditions. 

The flight tests also confirmed that the X-47B's flush mounted air data system ? a nod to its low-observable-relevant design ? is accurately sensing and communicating the aircraft's air speed, a critical factor in takeoff and landing.