Northrop Grumman, U.S. Navy Catapult X-47B from Carrier, marking the first catapult launch of an unmanned aircraft from a ship

An event as historic as the Navy’s first catapult of a manned aircraft, which occurred in Nov. 1915

Northrop Grumman Corp. and the U.S. Navy made carrier-capable unmanned aircraft history by catapulting the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator from the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77).

The launch occurred at 11:18 a.m. Eastern while the carrier was under way off the coast of Virginia. The tailless, strike-fighter-sized aircraft flew autonomously, returning to Naval Air Station Patuxent River and landing safely 65 minutes later.

said Capt. Jaime Engdahl, Navy UCAS program manager for the Naval Air Systems Command, called the catapult launch of the X-47B “a momentous feat for naval aviation. 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.”

Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for the Navy’s UCAS Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D) program. Company engineers designed, produced, and is currently flight testing two X-47B air vehicles for the program. Air Vehicle 2 completed the catapult shot.

Northrop Grumman’s UCAS-D industry team includes Pratt & Whitney, GKN Aerospace, Eaton, GE Aviation, UTC Aerospace Systems, Dell, Honeywell, Moog, Lockheed Martin, Wind River, Parker Aerospace, and Rockwell Collins.

“Catapulting the unmanned X-47B off the USS George H.W. Bush is an event as historic as the Navy’s first catapult of a manned aircraft, which occurred in Nov. 1915 from the armored cruiser USS North Carolina (ACR-12),” explains Carl Johnson, vice president and Navy UCAS program manager for Northrop Grumman. “We are delighted to help launch this new era of naval capability.”

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