History takes wing as an unmanned X-47B lifts off from the carrier USS George H.W. Bush Tuesday in the Atlantic.
For the first time in history, the Navy launched a jet-powered, fighter-sized unmanned aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier Tuesday.
The Navy’s latest slogan is “a force for good.” The launch of the X-47B may be “a force for could” signaling the dawn of a new era in carrier aviation.
Longer-legged drones could permit their mother ships to stay beyond the range of enemy missiles and fighter aircraft and keep carriers – the heart and soul of today’s U.S. Navy – relatively safe and sound for decades to come.
The takeoff took place under a crisp blue sky at 11:18 a.m. some 100 miles off the Virginia coast from the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush. The stealthy Northrop Grumman drone made several low passes over the huge flattop before heading west for the hour-long flight and safely landing at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland.
“Today’s catapult launch of the X-47B is a momentous feat for naval aviation,” said Captain Jaime Engdahl, chief of the Navy’s unmanned combat air system program. “It proves that the Navy’s goal of operating unmanned systems safely and effectively from aircraft carriers is well on its way to becoming a reality.”
Over the next several weeks, the X-47B and its controllers will fly assorted approaches to the Bush before tackling an even greater challenge: landing on its deck while at sea.