World Naval Developments

Proceedings Magazine - April 2011 Vol. 137/4/1,298 [2]

By Norman Friedman

Air Power on a Budget

Early in February the U.S. Navy took what may well turn out to be a revolutionary step forward in unmanned-aircraft development when the prototype X-47B made its first flight. It is slated to be the first carrier-based unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV). Unlike similar unmanned vehicles currently in service, it is not a low-performance airplane suited only to the benign environment U.S. forces currently enjoy in Afghanistan. Instead, it is an attack bomber whose stealthy design should allow it to survive in the face of the most sophisticated opposing systems. As such, it is likely to be valuable over the full range of scenarios, not only the counterinsurgency ones typified by the war in Afghanistan. On the other hand, because it is unmanned, it can have the sort of endurance that makes UAVs like Reaper so valuable in the current conflict.

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Norman Friedman [4]

Norman Friedman is a consultant on global naval strategy, naval trends, and naval warfare. An internationally known military technology analyst and naval historian, he worked for a decade as an advisor to Secretaries of the Navy, and for another 10 years with a leading U.S. think tank. Dr. Friedman travels the world speaking to military and defense industry leaders, and appears frequently appears on television as a guest commentator. He has authored more than 30 books, and has since the 1980s contributed regular columns analyzing world naval developments for Proceedings magazine. His PhD in Physics was earned at Columbia University.

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