By The Time You Read This the first trap onboard a carrier of an unmanned aircraft will have been made. The remotely piloted X-47B was catapulted from the U.S.S. George H.W. Bush, made a couple of passes over the carrier, and then landed at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. Within 72 hours it was back, doing touch and goes aboard the carrier but not stopping. Only a full arrested landing remains to prove the concept. Naval leaders said the tests demonstrate the future of the U.S. Navy. One day a captain will have a photo behind his desk of the landings that took place this spring, one officer observed. The aircraft aboard his ship will be mostly pilotless.
展开▼
