I haven't heard if the controllers for these things will be ashore somewhere in a box or will they be on the boat? I know the guys on deck were doing the taxiing but who flys the thing and from where?
You folks DO KNOW…I hope…that the
X47B-UCAS-
D is just THAT, right:
X = "Experimental"
D = "Demonstrator"
I don't know if the final RFP has been released yet, but am reliably informed that at least 4 Industry competitors (you can probably name them yourselves…) all have their each and own DIVERSE visions of how to address requirements (objective and threshold, with concomitant trade-space), what they will propose, and what it may finally look like. Will there be a "fly-off"…or just award on Powerpoint? And yet I've heard some opine that these thingies will be operational in 2-4 years.
The Devil will ever be in "the Details"…stealth trade-offs, range/endurance thresholds, SENSOR/WEAPONS (?) PAYLOADS, control schema, data-transfer/downlink capabilities, maintenance and sustainment issues…organizational, I-Level and depot/OEM, required CVN SHIPALTs to support, squadron/det manning, rating, NEC and NOBC issues...well, you get the idea. Need I mention reduced DoN funding/procurement accounts in the foreseeable future?
This is undoubtedly a navigable road…but I'm guessing it'll be longer and rockier than the cheerleading squad currently can imagine. Again…I'm with the "Air Boss"…"this is a PIXEL on what MAY become the future picture of Naval Aviation".
Heck, it only took the Navy about a decade to take the proven USAF TISEO camera system used on the F-4E and adapt/test/integrate/install/field it in the Tomcat as the TCS system. And that was just a two-FOV B/W video camera….you get the idea.
Just my $.02.