Boeing Phantom Ray to catch shuttle ride at Lambert

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Boeing's will be ferried on a shuttle carrier Dec. 11 at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

Boeing said it plans to make an aviation first next week.

The aerospace giant’s unmanned Phantom Ray will piggyback on a shuttle carrier aircraft on Dec. 11 at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, marking the first time something other than a shuttle orbiter will be carried on one of NASA’s modified 747s.

The one-hour exercise is in preparation for delivery of the Phantom Ray to Dryden’s Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., for tests leading to Phantom Ray’s first flight. The trip to California could be made as early as Dec. 13, said Boeing spokesman Chris Haddox.

Boeing first unveiled its unmanned Phantom Ray in May in St. Louis. The fighter-sized aircraft is designed to support missions with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, suppression of enemy air defenses, electronic attack, strike and autonomous aerial refueling, Boeing said.

The Phantom Ray is not a production vehicle; it is a demonstration vehicle intended to be a flying test bed for future technology development opportunities.

The Phantom Ray is one of several programs in the Phantom Works division of Boeing’s St. Louis-based Defense, Space & Security unit. Phantom Works is also building a Phantom Eye surveillance aircraft powered by a hydrogen-fueled Ford compact truck engine that can loiter at high altitudes for up to four days.

Darryl Davis is president of Boeing Phantom Works.

Chicago-based Boeing’s (NYSE: BA) $34 billion Hazelwood, Mo.-based Defense, Space & Security division is one of the largest employers in St. Louis with about 16,000 workers locally and 68,000 employees worldwide.

kvolkmann@bizjournals.com