Boeing’s [BA] Phantom Eye unmanned aerial system (UAS) recently completed its first autonomous flight at Edwards AFB, Calif., the company said in a statement.
The 28-minute flight began at 6:22 a.m. PST as Phantom Eye climbed to an altitude of 4,080 feet and reached a cruising speed of 62 knots. The vehicle sustained some damage when landing as the landing gear dug into the lakebed and broke, the company said.
Boeing plans to fly Phantom Eye for a longer duration and at higher altitude the next time out. Deborah VanNierop, a company spokeswoman, said yesterday it has not determined the duration or altitude planned for the next flight.
The flight took place Friday following a series of taxi tests in April that validated ground guidance, navigation and control, mission planning, pilot interface and operational procedures, the company said.
“This flight demonstrated Phantom Eye’s initial handling and maneuverability capabilities,” Drew Mallow, Boeing’s Phantom Eye program manager, said in a statement. “The team is now analyzing data from the mission and preparing for our next flight.”
Phantom Eye is a liquid-hydrogen powered UAS designed to remain airborne for up to four days while reaching altitudes of 65,000 feet, the company said. Boeing said Phantom Eye’s liquid-hydrogen propulsion creates only water as a byproduct while the demonstrator, with its 150-foot wingspan, is capable of carrying a 450-pound payload.
Boeing has not determined when it will attempt the target goal of a four-hour test flight, VanNierop said.
Phantom Eye is the latest in Boeing’s series of rapid prototyping programs, which include Phantom Ray, a fighter-jet sized UAS; Echo Ranger, a fully autonomous unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV); ScanEagle Compressed Carriage, a long-endurance UAS and an associated Common Open Mission Management Command (COMC2) system capable of managing all of the company’s unmanned assets, it said.