Dell is spotlighting the role of its data center solutions in the U.S. Navy/Northrop Grumman program for the X-47B unmanned combat air system.

The company's commercial-off-the-shelf technology was used by Northrop Grumman to develop X-47B's high-performance ground control system, resulting in lower costs than that of a custom solution.

"Developing the X-47B system required us to innovate not just technologically, but also on cost," said Pablo Gonzalez, Northrop Grumman's X-47B program manager. "Dell presented us with a suite of COTS solutions that gave us both performance and the flexibility needed for our IT infrastructure, while keeping costs low."

The X-47B is an unmanned combat air vehicle for use from an aircraft carrier. It is the size of a fighter plane and was designed as a result of a program of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

X-47B demonstrators has successfully been launched and recovered from carriers during development trails.

Dell, in highlighting its contribution to the development of the X-47B system, did not elaborate on its off-the-shelf technologies.