NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM

A Drone Named Elsie May Becomes a Museum Artifact

The X-45A is part of an elite group of aircraft that were tested in the skies above Mojave

On a black background is a white, angular-shape aircraft with no cockpit. The opening for the jet engine air intake is the front of the aircraft. Painted in black letters on the rear fuselage is: "Boeing Phantom Works." The right wing is marked: "X-45A."
The X-45A Vehicle 1 has two internal weapons bays. A small team of engineers constructed the aircraft from materials including aluminum, carbon fiber, steel, copper, and rubber. Smithsonian/Eric Long

The National Air and Space Museum has a dazzling collection of X-planes: the Bell X-1, the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket, and the North American X-15 (among others). The Museum’s collection of experimental aircraft also includes a somewhat lesser-known artifact: the Boeing X-45A, a jet-powered stealth aircraft with a length of just over 26 feet and a height of about 6.5 feet. 

From certain angles, the X-45A’s rounded fuselage and spindly, three-legged landing gear give the aircraft an insect-like cuteness. But there is nothing cute about the X-45A’s purpose: an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology demonstrator designed to hunt and destroy enemy ground targets. The X-45A—named Elsie May—was jointly developed by Boeing Phantom Works and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA); in fact, much of the program’s documentation remains classified.

The X-45A began its flight-testing program in 2002, operating out of Edwards Air Force Base in California. In films of the flights (some of them available online), Elsie May is all business. On its first flight, the little drone—operating under the call-sign Stingray One—gathered speed over Rogers Dry Lake before lifting effortlessly into the air. “She’s off!” said the team’s flight director. During the 14-minute flight, the X-45A achieved a speed of 225 mph and an altitude of 7,500 feet. On a later flight, the X-45A would become the first autonomous UAV to release weapons over a target.

Elsie May and her twin—X-45A Vehicle 2—would complete dozens of flights before the program wrapped up in 2005. Vehicle 2 is now in the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Born from a once-secret military program, both X-45As have earned their places in institutions that celebrate aeronautical innovation. 

Diane Tedeschi is Air & Space Quarterly’s senior editor.

This article is from the Summer 2024 issue of Air & Space Quarterly, the National Air and Space Museum's signature magazine that explores topics in aviation and space, from the earliest moments of flight to today. Explore the full issue.