Northrop Grumman X-47A Pegasus

The Northrop Grumman X-47A Pegasus was the original demonstrator of the X-47 unmanned combat aerial vehicle, which began as part of DARPA's Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems program and later became the Navy's program to create a carrier-based unmanned aircraft. Unlike the competing Boeing X-45, its initial development was funded by the company itself. The Navy gave Northrop Grumman a contract for a naval demonstrator in early 2001, and the proof-of-concept vehicle was built under contract by Scaled Composites at the Mojave Spaceport. It is a simple black arrowhead with no vertical tail, a leading edge sweep of 55 degrees, and a single Pratt and Whitney Canada JT15D-5C turbofan mounted on its back, behind a top-mounted inlet with a serpentine duct. The X-47A was rolled out on 30 July 2001 and flew for the first time on 23 February 2003 at China Lake, California.