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The Bird of Prey project
formally started in 1992. The US$67 million development cost was
provided by McDonnell Douglas (acquired by Boeing in 1998), but
the USAF agreed to provide flight-test facilities and security,
including chase aircraft and access to a secure flight-test
center.
Though its primary mission was to
demonstrate stealth technology, it also allowed Boeing's Phantom
Works the company's special-projects arm to demonstrate it could
build prototype airplanes quickly and cheaply. The airplane was
made from a small number of carbon fiber composite parts, and -
amazingly, in view of its shape, - had a simple all-manual
flight control system without a computer in sight.
The Bird of Prey has made 38 flights since being secretly
launched in 1996. Sources suggest they may include active camouflage
systems to reduce visibility by using panels or coatings that
change color or luminosity. This could allow safe combat
missions in daylight, rather than being restricted to night
flying.
The once highly classified project ran from 1992
through 1999, and was revealed because the technologies and
capabilities developed have become industry standards, and it is
no longer necessary to conceal the aircraft's existence. The Bird of
Prey named after a Klingon spacecraft from Star Trek was a
low-performance demonstrator, designed to put a representative
shape into the air with minimum time and expense.
Maximum speed was 260kt and the highest altitude
achieved was 20,000ft. The 14.2kN Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-5
engine would have been working hard to propel a small-winged
3,360kg aircraft even if it were not breathing through a
tortuous inlet; Northrop Grumman, using the same engine on its
X-47A Pegasus unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator,
has reported problems in reducing duct losses.
It has not been confirmed whether the Bird of Prey was
ultimately intended to be manned or unmanned. But the aircraft
has clearly had a major influence in the design of Boeing's
unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator, the X-45. Two
of these pilotless combat planes are currently undergoing test
flights. Armed UCAVs are among the hottest projects in military
aviation, having the obvious advantage of not risking life, as
well as being cheaper than manned aircraft.