Navy drone flies alongside fighter jets

[unhappycamper]

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/08/navy-drone-flies-alongside-fighter-jets-first-time



The Navy's prototype of an unmanned stealth plane, the X-47B, took off and landed on the flight deck of the Theodore Roosevelt alongside traditional fighter jets for the first time.

Navy drone flies alongside fighter jets
By Mike Hixenbaugh
The Virginian-Pilot
© August 18, 2014

ABOARD THE ROOSEVELT

The movement of jets aboard an aircraft carrier flight deck is often compared to a ballet, with sailors in multicolored shirts guiding fighter pilots and their jets in a tightly choreographed dance.

So what happens if you add a robot to the human performers?

The Navy attempted to answer that question Sunday aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, where, for the first time, the service's prototype of an unmanned stealth plane, the X-47B, took off and landed on a carrier flight deck alongside traditional fighter jets.



The Navy's prototype of an unmanned stealth plane, the X-47B, took off and landed on the flight deck of the Theodore Roosevelt alongside traditional fighter jets for the first time.

The experiment off the coast of Virginia was a glimpse into the future of naval aviation, said Rear Adm. Mat Winter, who oversees the Navy's unmanned aviation and strike weapons program. The Navy plans to someday integrate an entire fleet of automated drones such as the X-47B into its carrier air wings - not to replace piloted aircraft, Winter said, but to complement them.


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Meet our newest $400+ million dollar drone (psst: the F-22 costs $418 million a pop):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-47B

Northrop Grumman X-47B

The Northrop Grumman X-47B is a demonstration unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) designed for carrier-based operations. Developed by the American defense technology company Northrop Grumman, the X-47 project began as part of DARPA's J-UCAS program, and is now part of the United States Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) program. The X-47B first flew in 2011, and as of 2014, it is undergoing flight and operational integration testing, having successfully performed a series of land- and carrier-based demonstrations.[2][3][4] Northrop Grumman intends to develop the prototype X-47B into a battlefield-ready aircraft, the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) system, which will enter service by 2019.[5] In August, 2014, the US Navy announced that it had integrated the X-47B into carrier operations alongside manned aircraft.[6]

X-47B UCAS-D

Role Unmanned combat air vehicle
National origin United States
Manufacturer Northrop Grumman
First flight 4 February 2011
Primary user United States Navy
Number built 2
Program cost US$813 million[1]
Developed from X-47A Pegasus
Developed into X-47C UCLASS