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Boeing has started building Phantom Eye - its
first unmanned, liquid-hydrogen powered, high altitude long
endurance (HALE) demonstrator aircraft.
“The essence of Phantom Eye is its propulsion
system,” said Darryl Davis, Boeing Phantom Works president. “After
five years of technology development, we are now deploying rapid
prototyping to bring together an unmanned aerial vehicle [UAV]
with a breakthrough liquid-hydrogen propulsion system that will be
ready to fly early next year.”
Phantom Eye’s entire propulsion system -
including the engine, turbo chargers and engine control system -
successfully completed an 80-hour test in an altitude chamber on 1
March 2010, clearing the way for the propulsion system and UAV to
be assembled.
The twin-engine Phantom Eye demonstrator will
have a 150-foot wingspan and be capable of flying for more than
four days at altitudes up to 65,000 feet while carrying a payload
of up to 450 pounds. Phantom Eye is designed to maintain a
persistent presence in the stratosphere over a specific area,
while performing missions that could include intelligence,
reconnaissance, surveillance and communication.
Boeing also is
developing a larger HALE that will stay aloft for more than 10
days and carry payloads of more than 2,000 pounds. It is also building
“Phantom Ray” a fighter-sized UAV that will be a flying test bed
for advanced technologies.
“We believe Phantom Eye and
Phantom Ray represent two areas where the unmanned aerial vehicle
market is heading, and rapid prototyping is the key to getting us
there,” said Dave Koopersmith, Advanced Boeing Military Aircraft
vice president. “These innovative demonstrators reduce technology
risks and set the stage for meeting both military and commercial
customers’ future needs.”
Phantom Eye evolved from Boeing’s
earlier success with the piston-powered Condor that set several
records for altitude and endurance in the late 1980s. Boeing, as
the Phantom Eye system designer, is working closely with Ball
Aerospace, Aurora Flight Sciences, Ford Motor Co. and MAHLE
Powertrain to develop the demonstrator.
Phantom Ray evolved
from the X-45C program. It is scheduled to make its first flight
in December.
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