The Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) is the name of a new class of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that have been designed to carry out air strikes.

Current UCAV concepts call for an aircraft which would be able to operate virtually autonomously. It will be programmed with route and target details, and conduct the mission without help from human controllers on the ground. For various reasons, however, current designs incorporate a "man in the loop," meaning that a ground controller must authorize weapons release.

Current UCAV concepts include:

• J-UCAS - A joint DARPA/USAF/USN program incorporating two designs:
  • Boeing X-45
  • Northrop-Grumman X-47 Pegasus
• Hunter-Killer Project, five designs:
  • Scaled Composites Model 395
  • Scaled Composites Model 396
  • General Atomics RQ-1B Predator or RQ-1C Predator
  • Aurora Flight Sciences /Israel Aircraft Industries Eagle/Heron 2
  • Unnamed Lockheed Martin entry
• Dassault Neuron
• Saab SHARC
• Saab Filur
• EADS UCAV
• Denel Aerospace Systems UCAV-TD
• Israel Aircraft Industries Eitan

Note: Some of these are not aircraft prototypes but technology demonstrators that are not expected to enter service.

The J-UCAS UCAV would use stealth technologies and carry precision-guided weapons such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) or precision miniature munitions, such as the Small Diameter Bomb to suppress enemy air defenses.

Controllers could use real-time data sources, including satellites, to plan for and respond to changes on and around the battlefield.

The U.S. Air Force is expected to start fielding UCAVs by 2010.

The Israeli Air Force plans to procure a large long-range UCAV that resembles a fighter-jet. The Israeli UCAV, named Eitan, sports a wingspan of 26 meters and a takeoff weight of four tons. The state-owned Israel Aircraft Industries developed the Eitan. Eitan would be a multi-purpose UCAV with automatic takeoff and landing able to locate and destroy mobile ballistic missile launchers in reconnaissance and attack missions.

External links

• Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS)
• Dassault article on its UAV/UCAV programs
• Saab UAV/UCAV info page