Humanoid & robot atlas
X-47B
Photo: Northrop Grumman, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
RetiredUnited StatesSupervised

Northrop Grumman · uncrewed military aircraft

X-47B

A tailless jet demonstrator that flew under computer control, with operators directing it from the carrier and three navigation systems cross-checking each other during landings.

Price
—research demonstrator, not sold
Autonomy
SupervisedHow it runs
Driverless
TestingSince 2011-02-04
Fleet
—See details below
Speed
—Not published
Range
3900 kmPer charge or tank
Compare

Why it matters

First uncrewed aircraft catapulted from (May 2013) and arrested-landed on (July 2013) an aircraft carrier at sea, and in April 2015 the first fully autonomous aerial refuelling.

Real-world use

The US Navy’s two-aircraft X-47B demonstration program began flight testing in February 2011 and completed its final test objective, autonomous aerial refueling, in April 2015 (NAVAIR, 2011, 2015).

Timeline

First shown
2011-02-04
Released
Not yet
First flight, Edwards Air Force Base

Maker

Northrop GrummanCompany

How it drives

Fleet and city figures move fast; each carries its date and who reported it.

Driverless status
Driverless tests only
Where it runs
Edwards AFB; USS George H.W. Bush and other carriers, Atlantic
Driverless since
2011-02-04
Fleet
two demonstrators, retired

How it stacks up

Against other military aircraft that publish the figure. Pick a measure.

  1. X-47BNorthrop Grumman · 201120185 kg
  2. RQ-4 Global HawkNorthrop Grumman · 199814628 kg
  3. XQ-58 ValkyrieKratos Defense & Security Solutions · 20192722 kg
  4. YFQ-44A Fury (production FQ-44A)Anduril Industries · 20252268 kg

X-47B is heavier than 100% of the 3 other military aircraft that publish a weight. Bars show the 3 closest in date.

Weight 20185 kg 2268 kg20185 kg #1 of 4 · heavier than 100%

Not published by the maker: height, speed, payload, joints, battery, price.

Public attention

A historic robot: no longer sold or in use, so it is not ranked against current vehicles.

  • No Wikipedia article of its own yet
  • No recent press stories listed yet

Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-13; same method for every robot. How it is measured

What’s inside

No component details published yet.

Movement
Other movement
How it runs
Supervised. Works by itself while a person watches and steps in.

Lineage

Every Northrop Grumman vehicle in order.

  1. RQ-4 Global HawkRQ-4 Global Hawk1998In service
  2. X-47BX-47B2011Retired

Made, sold and where

No production or sales figures published yet.

Price
Not publishedresearch demonstrator, not sold
How to get one
No official buying page found

Sources

Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman, U.S. Navy Complete First Arrested Landing of a Tailless Unmanned Aircraft Aboard an Aircraft Carrier

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