Boeing Phantom Eye

Lore & Background

The Phantom Eye was an evolution from Boeing's earlier success with the piston-powered Boeing Condor that set several records for altitude and endurance in the late 1980s. Boeing also studied a larger HALE UAV that could fly for over 10 days and carry payloads of 450 pounds or more. The Phantom Eye demonstrator was a 60–70% scale design of an objective system. Its propulsion system successfully completed an 80-hour test in an altitude chamber on March 1, 2010, clearing the way for assembly. Boeing worked with Ball Aerospace, Aurora Flight Sciences, Ford Motor Co. and MAHLE Powertrain to develop the Phantom Eye. The aircraft was revealed to the press at Boeing's facilities in St Louis, Missouri, on July 12, 2010.

The demonstrator was shipped to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base for ground tests. It completed its first flight on June 1, 2012, reaching an altitude of 4,000 feet and a speed of 62 knots for 28 minutes; its landing gear dug into the dry lakebed during landing and caused some damage. After upgrades to autonomous flight systems and the landing system, the second flight on February 25, 2013 reached 8,000 feet at 62 knots for 66 minutes and ended with a successful landing. Subsequent flights included a fourth flight on June 14, 2013 reaching 20,000 feet for 4 hours, and a fifth flight on September 14, 2013 reaching 28,000 feet for nearly four and a half hours. The sixth flight on January 6, 2014 lasted 5 hours. The demonstrator's ninth flight in 2014 lasted 8–9 hours at 54,000 feet, after which it was placed in storage at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center.

In February 2014, the Phantom Eye was promoted to experimental status by the Air Force's 412th Operations Group. Boeing planned to test the demonstrator to reach its desired operating altitude of 60,000 feet and increase endurance; a full-size operational Phantom Eye was planned to reach endurance goals of 7–10 days airborne if successful. Boeing looked for opportunities in the military or commercial sectors to continue development, initially pitching it as a high-flying satellite surrogate for ground surveillance or communications relay, and also examining whether a solid-state laser could be mounted for missile defense.

Reader's Guide

The Phantom Eye demonstrator represented a notable step in hydrogen-powered aviation and high-altitude long-endurance unmanned systems. Its propulsion system, using modified Ford engines tuned to run on hydrogen, produced only water as a by-product, which Boeing marketed as economical and environmentally benign. The aircraft carried no armament and was intended solely for persistent intelligence and surveillance. Boeing pitched it as a communications relay for the U.S. Navy, suggesting that a pair of Phantom Eyes, one relieving the other after days of constant flight, could provide continuous long-range communications without taking up space on an aircraft carrier. The demonstrator's nine flights included a payload from the Missile Defense Agency on its fifth flight, and in June 2013 Boeing received a $6.8 million contract from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency to install an unidentified payload, most likely a long-range sensing and tracking system for aiming a laser. Despite these efforts, the demonstrator was disassembled and transferred for display at the Air Force Flight Test Museum on August 17, 2016, after Boeing was unable to secure further military or commercial interest. The company had hoped to construct a 40% larger version capable of staying airborne for 10 days with a 1,000 lb payload or 7 days with a 2,000 lb payload, but the retirement of the prototype left that prospect unclear.

Did You Know?

• The Phantom Eye's engines were modified Ford 2.3 liter engines originally designed for the petrol-burning Ford Fusion.
• Its first flight on June 1, 2012 lasted only 28 minutes and ended with landing gear damage on the dry lakebed.
• The demonstrator had a 150-foot wingspan and could carry a 450-pound payload.
• The only by-product of its hydrogen propulsion system was water.