In late 2003, DARPA formed the J-UCAS office, merging the Air Force X-45A UCAV and the Navy X-47A UCAV-N unmanned combat air vehicle programs.
"We're going to demonstrate a set of capabilities so the services can understand this thing, what it can do and what it can't do", said Michael Francis, director of J-UCAS.
"The operating system is the part that's hardest to deal with", he told National Defense. Unlike traditional aircraft programs, J-UCAS emphasizes the software and the network, rather than the vehicles. "The platforms are just nodes in a network", Francis said.
The J-UCAS program combines the efforts that were previously conducted under the DARPA/Air Force UCAS program and the DARPA/Navy UCAV-N program. Each program had its specific targets and specifications.
For the J-UCAS program, DARPA combined several important objectives, the J-UCAS demonstrators must, as a minimum, have an operational radius of 1,300 miles, a two hour loiter capability at a 1,000 mile range and carry at least 4,500 pounds of weapons and equipment.
Furthermore, both vehicles will use the same ground control equipment. Making it possible that a Boeing ground station will control a Northrop Grumman aircraft.
If the two aircraft are flying autonomously, unless you have a scorecard, you won't be able to tell which is which, according to Francis.
Spiral 0
Existing individual UCAS designs (X-47A UCAV-N & X-45A)
More advanced demonstrators are now under development as part of the J-UCAS program: the X-45C and X-47B are the next step in the evolution of an affordable operational J-UCAS.
The larger air vehicles will more closely represent the envisioned operational systems, to include two full weapons bays and incorporation of LO technologies.
The Spiral 1, development phase under the J-UCAS program
Includes the design of the improved demonstrator air vehicles, X-45C and the X-47B.
The objective of Spiral 1 effort is to design, develop, integrate, and demonstrate the technologies, processes, and system attributes (TPSAs) pertaining to the J-UCAS Operational System.
Under Spiral 1, two air vehicles will begin flight test in 2006 and will commence catapult and arrested landing testing in the fall of 2006.
Operational Assessment Phase (Spiral 2) - FY07-09
This phase will develop and demonstrate greater operational utility, which will support go-ahead for development (Milestone B) of the J-UCAS Objective System (J-UOS) in 2009.
A very important part of J-UCAS is a common technologies program - developing standards and common components for sensor, communications and computer systems.
The idea is that Navy and USAF UCAVs should work seamlessly together, with a common upgrade path, and that new UCAVs - perhaps a highly agile aircraft or a supersonic long-range vehicle - can be integrated into the same system.
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