Air-Attack.com - J-UCAS Program

Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems

"We're going to demonstrate a set of capabilities so the services can understand this thing, what it can do and what it can't do", said Michael Francis, director of J-UCAS.

"The operating system is the part that's hardest to deal with", he told National Defense. Unlike traditional aircraft programs, J-UCAS emphasizes the software and the network, rather than the vehicles. "The platforms are just nodes in a network", Francis said.

Objectives

The J-UCAS program combines the efforts that were previously conducted under the DARPA/Air Force UCAS program and the DARPA/Navy UCAV-N program. Each program had its specific targets and specifications.
For the J-UCAS program, DARPA combined several important objectives, the J-UCAS demonstrators must, as a minimum, have an operational radius of 1,300 miles, a two hour loiter capability at a 1,000 mile range and carry at least 4,500 pounds of weapons and equipment.
Furthermore, both vehicles will use the same ground control equipment. Making it possible that a Boeing ground station will control a Northrop Grumman aircraft.
If the two aircraft are flying autonomously, unless you have a scorecard, you won't be able to tell which is which, according to Francis.

Development phases

Spiral 0
Existing individual UCAS designs (X-47A UCAV-N & X-45A)
More advanced demonstrators are now under development as part of the J-UCAS program: the X-45C and X-47B are the next step in the evolution of an affordable operational J-UCAS. The larger air vehicles will more closely represent the envisioned operational systems, to include two full weapons bays and incorporation of LO technologies.

The Spiral 1, development phase under the J-UCAS program
Includes the design of the improved demonstrator air vehicles, X-45C and the X-47B.
The objective of Spiral 1 effort is to design, develop, integrate, and demonstrate the technologies, processes, and system attributes (TPSAs) pertaining to the J-UCAS Operational System.
Under Spiral 1, two air vehicles will begin flight test in 2006 and will commence catapult and arrested landing testing in the fall of 2006.

Operational Assessment Phase (Spiral 2) - FY07-09
This phase will develop and demonstrate greater operational utility, which will support go-ahead for development (Milestone B) of the J-UCAS Objective System (J-UOS) in 2009.

Common Systems and Technologies

A very important part of J-UCAS is a common technologies program - developing standards and common components for sensor, communications and computer systems.
The idea is that Navy and USAF UCAVs should work seamlessly together, with a common upgrade path, and that new UCAVs - perhaps a highly agile aircraft or a supersonic long-range vehicle - can be integrated into the same system.

Current Developments

Due to budget cuts and priority changes, the J-UCAS program has been cancelled. The X-47 program is now managed by the Navy only, and the X-45 program for the Army has been terminated. Boeing may still modify the X-45 so it can participate in the Navy's program, and compete with the X-47.

Navy's UCAS-D Program

After the termination of the J-UCAS program, the Navy established the Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) program.

The purpose of this UCAS-D Program effort is to conduct a Carrier Demonstration (CV Demo) of a low-observable planform unmanned combat air system. The CV Demo effort will be structured to mature critical technologies and reduce the risk of carrier integration of a UCAS while providing the information necessary to support a potential follow-on acquisition milestone decision.
The Government anticipates the award of a CV Demo competitive contract no later than the second quarter of FY07. The expected period of performance of the CV Demo effort is from the second quarter of FY07 through the fourth quarter of FY11.

The scope of the UCAS-D effort includes the design, development and demonstration of a UCAS-D System (UCDS). The UCDS technology demonstration objectives shall include, but not limited to, the following:

Carrier Control Area Operations
Launch Performance
Arrested Landing Performance Including Approach, Waveoff and Bolter
Deck Operations
Supportability
Mission Control Segment (MCS) CV Integration
UCAS interface to Primary Flight Control (PriFly), Landing Signal Officer (LSO), and Carrier Air Traffic Control Center (CATCC)

For more information about the current developments of the X-45 and X-47 please visit their factsheets:

Recent developments:

Nov. 27th, 2007 | Boeing Awarded International Aviation Trophy for X-45A

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 27, 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has received the prestigious Johnston Memorial Trophy from the London-based Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators for the accomplishments of the X-45A Joint-Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) program. "This is quite an honor," said George Muellner, Boeing Advanced Systems president. "This is the first time a Boeing program has received this award and the first time it has been bestowed on an unmanned aircraft, which speaks highly o...
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Feb. 26th, 2007 | US Navy opens UCAS-D contest

Boeing and Northrop both submit systems developed under J-UCAS for service's combat air system competition Boeing and Northrop Grumman are responding to a US Navy request for proposals (RFP) for the $1.9 billion unmanned combat air system carrier demonstration (UCAS-D). Award of a contract for the six-year technology demonstration effort is expected in the third quarter of this year. Boeing will offer the X-45N naval derivative of its X-45C demonstrator, the first of which was completed bu...
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Apr. 24th, 2006 | Input: RFP For Navy UAS Is Expected In Autumn

Input, a federal information technology consulting agency, expects a draft or even formal request for proposals for the U.S. Navy's Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) unmanned aerial system in October or November, said Brian Haney, director of member services. Haney, at an Input conference April 20 featuring the Navy's chief information officer (CIO), said the total program could be worth $2 billion. The Naval Air Systems Command should conduct a full and open competition for the BAMS U...
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Apr. 21st, 2006 | NAVAIR UAV Chief Says New Strategy Needed For Joint Development

The demise of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) program is another example of why the Pentagon needs to reconsider what it wants from joint development programs, the head of the Navy's strike weapons and unmanned aviation program said April 18. "We start joint, but we never carry it across the goal line for some reason," Rear Adm. Timothy Heely said. "There are very few joint success stories," he told The DAILY after addressing the Precision Strike Association's conference on asy...
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Apr. 4th, 2006 | US finally looks beyond the B-2 for long-range strike capability

One of the most significant decisions in the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), published in February (2006), is its support for a plan to develop a long-range strike (LRS) aircraft and bring it into service by 2018. The QDR states that the US Air Force (USAF) "has set a goal of increasing its long-range strike capabilities by 50 per cent and the penetrating component of long-range strike by a factor of five by 2025". The timeline is tight, but neither USAF leaders nor the Fiscal Y...
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