ROBOTIC RAMPING-UP BOEING ASSEMBLING LARGER BOMBER AT EDWARDS AFB.

Byline: Daily News

Boeing has announced it has begun assembling a new, larger version of a robot bomber prototype being tested at Edwards Air Force Base.

Boeing workers in St. Louis started assembling its Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems X-45C aircraft June 8 by loading the aft ``carry-through'' frame into a holding fixture.

The 86-pound aluminum part, which spans the back end of the vehicle, will soon be mated with the two X-45 engine keels.

Boeing previously built two X-45A aircraft that are being flight-tested at Edwards. The much larger X-45C will be 39 feet long with a 49-foot wingspan and is scheduled for its first flight in mid-2006. The X-45A aircraft are about two-thirds the size: 26 feet long with 33-foot wingspans.

Boeing has incorporated lessons learned from building the X-45A craft into the new jet and expects the parts to come together easily and quickly, the company said in an announcement of the start of assembly.

``On both the A and C vehicles, we've greatly reduced the amount of expensive hard tooling needed and we are using laser tracking for more efficient assembly,'' said Darryl Davis, Boeing X-45 program manager.

The X-45 program is a joint effort by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Air Force, Navy and Boeing. It is intended to demonstrate that pilotless combat aircraft can work for the Air Force and the Navy in attacking anti-aircraft missile sites, dropping bombs deep within enemy territory, interfering with enemy electronics and reconnaissance.

The X-45C vehicle will be able to cruise at close to 600 mph, with a 4,500-pound payload, and fly at 40,000 feet with a mission radius of 1,300 nautical miles.

At Edwards, the two X-45A aircraft recently taxied together in a coordinated ground operation at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Boeing said.

The two X-45A aircraft stayed the correct distance apart through an inter-vehicle communication link as a single pilot-operator controlled them in 90-degree turns and turnarounds at speeds of up to 23 mph.

``This taxi exercise was crucial in our path towards flying the X-45 aircraft in coordinated flight this summer,'' said Davis. ``Our test team even introduced several failure modes and the air vehicles responded autonomously by ensuring proper separation was maintained.''

The next goal is demonstrating that the aircraft can fly in coordination.

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This artist's conception shows Boeing's new, larger version of a robot bomber prototype being tested at Edwards Air Force Base, called the X-45C.