Tanker Transfers Fuel To 'Salty Dog 502'

An Omega tanker transferred fuel to an X-47B UAV last week, marking the first time such an operation has been completed with standard refueling assets regularly used for manned aircraft.

The test is part of a program that will run through June of this year. The X-47B ... designated Salty Dog 502 ... linked to a tanker drogue and took on fuel.

But what the Unmanned Carrier Air Vehicle demonstrator (UCAS-D) has not taken on is additional funding. The Navy will now begin to concentrate on the next generation program, the  Unmanned Carrier Launched Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) aircraft.

The UCAS-D program proved that an unmanned aircraft could perform catapult launches and arrested recoveries (traps) aboard an aircraft carrier underway. Now they are continuing to test the refueling capability of the system.

The online news site Defense Update reports that the test marks the end of the program for the two X-47B aircraft built by Northrop Grumman as proof-of-concept aircraft for the Navy. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) said that the aircraft will either be sent to museums or to the boneyard at Davis Monthan AFB in Arizona.

(Image from Northrop Grumman)

FMI: www.navy.mil