Boeing Tests New Spy DroneDecember 16, 2010

 

Boeing, which has faced a   series of setbacks in its defense business, is going as far as developing and   building a new unmanned aerial vehicle without actually having a contract in   place with the Pentagon.

The company this week briefly   tested its Phantom Ray prototype — a drone it hopes is able to carry out a   variety of military missions such as surveillance, electronic attacks and even   challenges to enemy jets, according to St. Louis Today. The Phantom Ray itself is based on a model   Boeing was building — the X-45C — that was cut in 2007.

The U.S. military has a growing   arsenal of aerial unmanned aircraft in Afghanistan and Iraq, including General   Atomics Aeronautical Systems' MQ-9 Reaper and Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Global   Hawk.

Boeing has six drone systems   priced from $100,000 each for the ScanEagle to $15 million A160T Hummingbirds   — each with different and specialized capabilities, according to the article.

The Phantom Ray, however, is   "very important because Boeing has put a high priority on unmanned   vehicles," Philip Finnegan, director of corporate analysis at the Teal   Group, a defense market research firm, told the publication. The research firm   estimates that global spending on drones will increase to $11.5 billion in 2019   from $4.9 billion in 2010.

Boeing has faced a series of   setbacks over the past decade. It lost the Joint Strike Fighter contract to   Lockheed Martin in 2001 which would have kept its factories humming for   decades. It continues to battle for the Air Force's aerial refueling contract,   though the tide may be shifting to EADS's rival bid. Boeing's Future Combat   System program was also scaled back last year.

The company is now eager to tap   the drone market. Still, analysts note that simply creating new models of   drones is not necessarily a winning formula. "The Phantom Ray would be a   high-end unmanned aerial vehicle, and the demand right now is for lower-end   capabilities," Finnegan told St. Louis Today.

Analysts also note that drones will have a difficult time surviving missions that bring them in contact with enemy   fighters, making the future of the unmanned aircraft unclear, the article   noted.