UNMANNED CRAFT BUILDING BEGINS.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

MOJAVE - Famed aircraft designer Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites factory in Mojave is building a prototype unmanned combat aircraft for Northrop Grumman.

The kite-shaped, stealthy airplane, named Pegasus, is part of Northrop Grumman's effort to meet the Navy's goal of creating a fleet of unmanned combat aircraft capable of flying off ships.

``It's a program we are doing with our own funds,'' said Northrop Grumman spokesman Jim Hart. ``Later this year we'll do some demonstrations of our unmanned systems.''

The Navy's goal is to develop a computer controlled aircraft capable of preforming such missions as attacking enemy air defense radar and weapons systems and providing battlefield surveillance.

Northrop Grumman and Boeing were each awarded $2 million, 15-month contracts in June to conduct performance trade-off studies and preliminary design work for an aircraft carrier-based UCAV.

The program is being conducted jointly by the Navy and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the same organization that helped develop the F-117 stealth fighter in the 1980s.

``By removing the pilot from the vehicle a new standard in aircraft affordability and supportability will be achieved,'' Navy and DARPA said in a joint statement about the program. ``Capitalizing on technical advances by UCAVs will provide the nation with increased tactical deterrence at a fraction of the costs of current manned systems.''

Boeing, which also is working on an unmanned combat air vehicle program for the Air Force, has opted not to build an aircraft for this phase of the Navy program. Instead, Boeing is focusing on trying to leverage as much of the technology being developed for the Air Force vehicle for use with the Navy vehicle.

``I knew they were doing this (Pegasus) for some time,'' said George Muellner, vice president of Boeing's Phantom Works. ``They were somewhat taken back when they lost the original UCAV program (the Air Force effort). This is their way to close the gap.''

Northrop Grumman is spending $30 million to develop Pegasus.

The airplane will be 27 feet, 9 inches long and will have a wing span of 27 feet, 8 inches. The aircraft, being built with composite materials similar to the B-2 bomber, will weigh about 5,500 pounds - less than one- third the weight of an F-16 fighter.

Northrop Grumman plans to make a dozen flights with the aircraft, focusing on handling qualities that would be required for operations from an aircraft carrier. The flight testing will be done at the China Lake Naval Weapons center near Ridgecrest.

The Navy wants to bring UCAVs into its air fleet mix after 2010. The UCAV would be an airplane that can fly itself to its targets and back, using preprogrammed mission information. The Navy also wants the UCAV to have the ability to receive updates to its mission programming in midflight.