EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, California (AP) _ The Boeing Co.'s X-45, the first robotic plane designed specifically to fly combat missions, has successfully made its maiden flight.

The plane, one of two built so far, successfully took off, flew and landed on Wednesday, Boeing said, and was airborne for 14 minutes.

A Thursday press conference was planned to discuss the flight.

The plane was developed by the company's Phantom Works under a contract with the Air Force and the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Squat and tailless with a 36-foot (10.8-meter) wingspan, the X-45 is mostly flat. An engine intake sits where the cockpit normally would be.

Other robotic aircraft, including the Predator in Afghanistan, have been equipped with weapons, but they were originally designed as spy planes.

Air Force officials envision the X-45 taking part in strikes against enemy radar and surface-to-air missile batteries.

Unlike the crewed planes it may replace, the X-45 would be partially autonomous. Its pilot _ who may fly several planes at once _ would remain on the ground, out of harm's way.

Boeing designed the plane to have a 750-mile (1,200-kilometer) range and fly at subsonic speeds. The Air Force would like to store the planes for extended periods and then ship them, at short notice, to regions where they would be needed.

The target cost of each plane is between $10 million and $15 million, or about one-third the cost of next-generation fighter planes.