The clock has stopped for Boeing’s unmanned X-45A as it makes way for the X-45C, but the X-45A went out in style by winning the 2005 Flight International Aerospace Industry Award for missiles and military aircraft.

“A very clear-cut choice,” commented one of the judges. In fact, the Joint Unmanned Combat Aircraft Systems’ X-45A was a unanimous choice by the judges, a rare occurrence, according to Kieran Daily, a Flight Group editor who oversaw the awards.

T he X-45A received the award June 14, at a special ceremony in Paris in conjunction with the Paris Air Show. It was the first Aerospace Industry Award for Boeing since merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997.

“This award is something we are very proud of,” said Darryl Davis, Boeing Global Strike Solutions vice president. “It validates all of the hard work we have done. We know the X-45A program is something very special and has paved the way for future unmanned combat aircraft, so it’s great to be recognized with such a prestigious award by an outside organization like Flight International.”

This was the 11th year for the Aerospace Industry Awards, which are given by Flight International, but the publication doesn’t pick the winners. That is done by an independent panel of judges, who raved about the X-45A.

“The program has demonstrated an important step forward toward a new capability, pushing back the frontiers of what is operationally possible in a short time. And there is more to come,” said one of the judges in written comments.

Another judge said the unmanned X-45A may help Boeing’s manned fighter programs, the F-15E and F/A-18, by keeping their design capability intact as the heritage programs mature.

The X-45A’s remarkable demonstration career ended Aug. 10 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., with a simulated combat exercise featuring both X-45As, marking the 63rd and 64th flights in the aircrafts’ three-year flight history. The X-45A is being replaced by the X-45C, which is a larger version of the unmanned vehicle that will demonstrate even more capabilities. The X-45C will make its first flight in 2007.