A new unmanned reconnaissance aircraft was presented by the Boeing Corporation in St. Louis. The developers reported the main characteristics of the machine, which looks more like a starship from the future than a modern aircraft.
The wingspan is 15.2 m, the length is 10.9 m m, and the mass is 16.5 tons. The maximum flight altitude is 12 thousand meters, which is three kilometers more than that of an average long-haul passenger aircraft. The operating speed of the aircraft is 987 km / h, which is slightly less than the speed of sound, according to NEWSru.com.
Phantom Ray, as the development was called, will be used mainly for testing purposes - to test new technologies, according to The Daily Mail. The drone was developed by the Boeing Phantom Works division based on a prototype created for the US Army.
The aircraft is protected from radar beams. The engine is hidden inside the fuselage to minimize the infrared trail that enemy missiles target. All onboard equipment is probably also buried in the hull and is released to the outside only when necessary.
"Phantom Ray provides a range of options for our customers as a testing ground for sophisticated technologies, including reconnaissance, surveillance and reconnaissance, air defense suppression, electronic warfare and air refueling - the possibilities are almost endless," said the general director of the defense division. space and safety concern Boeing Dennis Muilenburg.
It took only two years to develop the car. This summer it will be tested, and in December it will begin flights that will last more than six months.
In early September last year, Boeing and the US Air Force successfully tested a chemical laser on board a C-130H aircraft, which struck a vehicle stationary on the ground from the air.
