J-UCAS

This is the Boeing X-45A Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS). It was first flown in 2002 and was the first modern unmanned aerial vehicle to be designed for combat strike missions, according to the museum. The project was first managed by DARPA, but in 2003, the X-45 program was consolidated by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy under the Joint Unmanned Combat Air System Office.

According to the museum, this X-45 carried out 40 sorties, and became the first autonomous flight of a high-performance, combat UAV. The program lasted until 2005.

Click here to read the related story on the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and click here to check out the entire Road Trip 2010 package.