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Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems, or J-UCAS, was the name for the joint U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force unmanned combat air vehicle procurement project. Originally two separate projects of the U.S. Air Force and Navy respectively: UCAV and UCAV-N; both programs merged in 2003.[1] The two vehicles involved in J-UCAS were the Boeing X-45 and Northrop Grumman X-47A Pegasus,[2] originally part of UCAV and UCAV-N respectively.[1][3] J-UCAS was managed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. In the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review, it was stated that the J-UCAS program would be terminated and instead a new long-range strategic bomber program, Next-Generation Bomber, for the Air Force would launch. The program was revitalized into a Navy-only program named UCAS-D.[4][5]
The goal of the J-UCAS effort was to develop a "versatile combat network in which air and ground components are nodes that can be changed over time to support a wide range of potential missions."[2]
- ^ a b "Boeing X-45A Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS)". National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Unmanned Aircraft Systems Roadmap, 2005–2030" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC). Office of the Secretary of Defense. 2005. p. 11. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Roadmap, 2002-2027" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC). pp. 11–12. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ "X-47B UCAS". Northrop Grumman. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Gertler, Jeremiah (3 August 2015). "History of the Navy UCLASS Program Requirements: In Brief" (PDF). Federation of American Scientists. Congressional Research Service. p. 3. Retrieved 18 August 2024.