Boeing Phantom Eye unmanned spy plane stays aloft four days, sort of bums us out
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted July 13th 2010 1:21PM
posted July 13th 2010 1:21PM
Sometimes, in the seat of our despair (which almost always corresponds with a viewing of The Real Housewives of New Jersey), we reflect on the sorry state of the world and note that the one thing we don't have to doubt is that history is marching us towards a mechanized slaughter that will make World War I look like Burning Man (the rave, not the actual burning people). Sure, it never occurred to anyone to maybe figure out how to cap an undersea oil well, but at least we are making headway in our development of autonomous, long range aircraft (you know, for shooting people and eavesdropping and whatnot). Our latest example of a world gone mad comes courtesy of Boeing, and it's called Phantom Eye. The unmanned aircraft system looks something like a bowling pin with wings and can spend up to four days at 65,000 feet. Also featured on the craft is a hydrogen propulsion system that promises great fuel economy, and whose only byproduct is water. At the unveiling ceremony in St. Louis, Boeing Phantom Works president Darryl Davis noted that the "capabilities inherent" in its design "will offer game-changing opportunities for our military, civil and commercial customers." Awesome! Look for the device later this summer, when it begins a series of ground and taxi tests in preparation for its first flight early next year.
Boeing Unveils Unmanned Phantom Eye Demonstrator
ST. LOUIS, July 12, 2010 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today unveiled the hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye unmanned airborne system, a demonstrator that will stay aloft at 65,000 feet for up to four days.
"Phantom Eye is the first of its kind and could open up a whole new market in collecting data and communications," Darryl Davis, president of Boeing Phantom Works, said today at the unveiling ceremony in St. Louis. "It is a perfect example of turning an idea into a reality. It defines our rapid prototyping efforts and will demonstrate the art-of-the-possible when it comes to persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The capabilities inherent in Phantom Eye's design will offer game-changing opportunities for our military, civil and commercial customers."
Later this summer, Phantom Eye will be shipped to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to begin a series of ground and taxi tests in preparation for its first flight in early 2011. That debut flight is expected to last between four and eight hours.
"The program is moving quickly, and it's exciting to be part of such a unique aircraft," said Drew Mallow, Phantom Eye program manager for Boeing. "The hydrogen propulsion system will be the key to Phantom Eye's success. It is very efficient and offers great fuel economy, and its only byproduct is water, so it's also a 'green' aircraft."
Phantom Eye is powered by two 2.3-liter, four-cylinder engines that provide 150 horsepower each. It has a 150-foot wingspan, will cruise at approximately 150 knots and can carry up to a 450-pound payload.
Key Phantom Eye suppliers and partners include Ford Motor Company (engines); Aurora Flight Sciences (wing); Mahle Powertrain (propulsion controls); Ball Aerospace (fuel tanks); Turbosolutions Engineering (turbochargers); the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; and NASA.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $34 billion business with 68,000 employees worldwide.
# # #
Contact:
Chris Haddox
Boeing Phantom Works
Office: 314-234-6447
Mobile: 314-707-8891
chris.d.haddox@boeing.com
Deborah VanNierop
Boeing Phantom Works
Mobile: 210-454-2656
deborah.a.vannierop@boeing.com
ST. LOUIS, July 12, 2010 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today unveiled the hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye unmanned airborne system, a demonstrator that will stay aloft at 65,000 feet for up to four days.
"Phantom Eye is the first of its kind and could open up a whole new market in collecting data and communications," Darryl Davis, president of Boeing Phantom Works, said today at the unveiling ceremony in St. Louis. "It is a perfect example of turning an idea into a reality. It defines our rapid prototyping efforts and will demonstrate the art-of-the-possible when it comes to persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The capabilities inherent in Phantom Eye's design will offer game-changing opportunities for our military, civil and commercial customers."
Later this summer, Phantom Eye will be shipped to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to begin a series of ground and taxi tests in preparation for its first flight in early 2011. That debut flight is expected to last between four and eight hours.
"The program is moving quickly, and it's exciting to be part of such a unique aircraft," said Drew Mallow, Phantom Eye program manager for Boeing. "The hydrogen propulsion system will be the key to Phantom Eye's success. It is very efficient and offers great fuel economy, and its only byproduct is water, so it's also a 'green' aircraft."
Phantom Eye is powered by two 2.3-liter, four-cylinder engines that provide 150 horsepower each. It has a 150-foot wingspan, will cruise at approximately 150 knots and can carry up to a 450-pound payload.
Key Phantom Eye suppliers and partners include Ford Motor Company (engines); Aurora Flight Sciences (wing); Mahle Powertrain (propulsion controls); Ball Aerospace (fuel tanks); Turbosolutions Engineering (turbochargers); the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; and NASA.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $34 billion business with 68,000 employees worldwide.
# # #
Contact:
Chris Haddox
Boeing Phantom Works
Office: 314-234-6447
Mobile: 314-707-8891
chris.d.haddox@boeing.com
Deborah VanNierop
Boeing Phantom Works
Mobile: 210-454-2656
deborah.a.vannierop@boeing.com
@jonbruc
It's military...
@tikigawd
"will offer game-changing opportunities for our military, civil and commercial customers."
It's reading...
I was going to make a comment about skynet, but you beat me to it. Somebody else has a tag called grimmeathookfuture for this sort of thing.
I'm happy to see that we're making war machines that have good fuel economy and are friendly to the environment.
Boeing's marketing dept. needs to paint it eco-green.
Flatley,
Not only are you the lord of the dance, but you also have the right views on relevant subject matter.
while i do agree that the defense industry can help fuel technological advances, i think we should recognize that there is a big cost to it (wars, lives, misery)... i fail to see the humor in it.
Right because any new technology for improving national security is just awful? Right? I don't know why you felt the need to obnoxiously add your personal views into this post but, please dont. Why couldnt you just give us the facts on a cool piece of technology (which may I mention will kill nobody unless it is shot down and hits them) and leave it at that? I'm not saying that you dont have the right to say that or anything, but I am saying that you should probably try to avoid coming over as a total ass if you feel the irresistible need to express your opinion, as you want to keep readers, correct?
@Brandonh33
I agree. I was just too lazy to put it in so many words...
So can I get one of those engines installed in my car? It doesn't need to fly so you can keep the postmodern bowling pin and the wings. I'd just like to see the innovation trickle down rather than plummet down to destroy some village in a third world country whose GNP is less than that of Boeing.
Marching us to mechanized slaughter? I don't think so.
One of the best deterrents to war is good intelligence. We need those eyes in the sky. This sort of intelligence not only helps the military nip off in the bud threatening enemy buildups, but also helps keep our military from over-reacting to seemingly dangerous situations, situations that aren't nearly as threatening as they seem.
I think the foil-hat wearing geeks at Engadget might be closer than we think - first the Brits introduce their pilot-less plane yesterday, now we have a 96 hour eye-in-the-sky... at this rate we may be just a few years away from Skynet!
Uh, burning man isn't a rave and last nights housewives kicked ass
soooooo...
...it's possible to get 65,000 miles worth of fuel mileage from hydrogen fuel? And why the hell isn't this push being made more aggressively?
It's a giant Nerf Vortex with wings!
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=nerf+vortex&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=12239127806383894339&ei=53U8TOL4IoX7lwfSw8XSAg&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CB4Q8wIwAA#
Looks like a nuclear bomb with wings. They probably had that in mind when they built it.
What an awful post...
You should prefix the title of the post with "OPINION:"
Hippy
@Shovel Man
beat me with the hippie comment by 3 minutes
there's a lot bitching in this post. a certain hippie needs to get the sand of his vagina. One, this thing in not UCAV, it's surveillance, so a long endurance version of the predator without the armament. And two, why the hell would Boeing give a hell about BP's problems and what does this have to do with the oil spill unless they are sending a few of these to keep an eye on it. and Three, a great many things from the military budget, there is a ton of research funded by the military that gets eventually incorporated into consumer products/electronics. IE: the internet (started from SIPRNET) and GPS. If the Air Force's budget was slashed to the point that you where required to buy a subscription to use GPS you people would be the first to bitch about it.
@JmHal And to reinforce how ignorant the oil-spill comment was, building something that flies itself for days is way easier than making something that can do construction work at the pressures of miles of ocean depth.
"whose only byproduct is water."
Nice, now it can be "Rain AND Hellfire".
I'll bet they still lose baggage.
I will repeat to the author (as well as the approving editor) what others have already said: Keep your political views out of my tech blog! Especially if they're F@#&$ing stupid! If I wanted articles filled with leftist drivel with a side of tech, I'd go to that rag Gizmodo.
I always wondered how the 2 survived, now I know: Gizmodo leans to the left and Engadget to the right, at least in the eyes of its readers.
Nice hornet's nest here.
Laziest design ever.
Great...now when its rains it means the military is spying on you.
It´s fat... boy
I guess it's cheaper comparing to a Spy SAT