“The operational unmanned aircraft soon to be developed have the opportunity to radically change the way presence and combat power are delivered from our aircraft carriers.”
The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator completed its first carrier-based arrested landing on board USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) off the coast of Virginia July 10.
“It isn’t very often you get a glimpse of the future. Today, those of us aboard USS George H.W. Bush got that chance as we witnessed the X-47B make its first ever arrested landing aboard an aircraft carrier,” said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. “The operational unmanned aircraft soon to be developed have the opportunity to radically change the way presence and combat power are delivered from our aircraft carriers.”
Today’s demonstration was the first time a tailless, unmanned autonomous aircraft landed on a modern aircraft carrier.
This test marks an historic event for naval aviation that Navy leaders believe will impact the way the Navy integrates manned and unmanned aircraft on the carrier flight deck in the future.
“Today we witnessed the capstone moment for the Navy UCAS program as the team flawlessly performed integrated carrier operations aboard USS George H.W. Bush with the X-47B aircraft,” said Capt. Jaime Engdahl, Navy UCAS Program Manager. “Our precision landing performance, advanced autonomous flight controls and digital carrier air traffic control environment are a testament to the innovation and technical excellence of the Navy and Northrop Grumman team.”
The July 10 landing was the beginning of the final part of three at-sea test periods for X-47B during the last eight months, culminating a decade of Navy unmanned integration efforts that show the Navy’s readiness to move forward with unmanned carrier aviation says Rear Adm. Mat Winter, who oversees the Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons in Patuxent River, Md.
“This demonstration has enabled us to merge industry and government technologies together which will enable the U.S. Navy to pursue future unmanned aviation carrier capabilities,” said Winter, who witnessed the historic landing. “The government engineering and testing team in partnership with our Northrop Grumman team members have matured the technologies in this X-47B system to position us for today’s event, which marks a milestone in naval aviation.”
During today’s testing, the X-47B completed the 35-minute transit from Pax River to the carrier and caught the 3 wire with the aircraft’s tailhook. The arrested landing effectively brought the aircraft from approximately 145 knots to stop in less than 350 feet.
Shortly after the initial landing, the aircraft was launched off the ship using the carrier’s catapult. The X-47B then proceeded to execute one more arrested landing.
On the third approach to Bush the X-47B aircraft self detected a navigation computer anomaly that required the air vehicle to transit to the assigned shore based divert landing site, Wallops Island Air Field. The X-47B navigated to and landed without incident.
“We have been using the same [carrier] landing technology for more than 50 years now and the idea that we can take a large UAV and operate in that environment is fascinating,” said Engdahl.
“Across the entire spectrum of military operations, an integrated force of manned and unmanned platforms is the future,” said Ray Mabus. “The X-47B’s autonomous arrested landing aboard USS George H.W. Bush shows how the Navy and Marine Corps are riding the bow wave of technological advances to create this 21st century force.”
The Latest Bing News on:
Unmanned Combat Air System
- Cabinet of Ministers supports creation of Unmanned Systems Forces in Ukraineon May 7, 2024 at 1:32 pm
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has supported the draft presidential decree on the creation of a separate branch of the Ukrainian Armed Forces - the Unmanned Systems Forces, according to Umerov.
- U.S. Air Force Poised to Unveil NGAD: The Sky's New Sovereign by 2030on May 7, 2024 at 7:11 am
These technologies will serve as digital co-pilots for the manned aircraft and enable the unmanned aerial systems (UAS ... a decade ahead of the Franco-German Future Combat Air System and potentially ...
- Air Force fighter jet takes historic first flight controlled by artificial intelligenceon May 3, 2024 at 3:22 pm
An experimental F-16 fighter jet has taken Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall on a history-making flight controlled by artificial intelligence and not a human pilot.
- Japan hastens pursuit of unmanned ground vehicles for its militaryon May 2, 2024 at 3:12 am
Foreign vendors are so far dominating Tokyo's lineup of trial robots, as the government tries to catch up on the use of unmanned systems.
- The Air Force’s Combat Drone Saga Has Taken a Dramatic Turnon April 30, 2024 at 8:00 am
General Atomics XQ-67A Off Board Sensing Station (OBSS) drone seen during its first flight on Feb. 28, 2024 after taking off from Gray Butte Airport in Palmdale, CA. This design appears to correspond ...
- Unmanned Aerial Vehicleson April 27, 2024 at 1:53 am
The flights were the first involving a large fixed-wing aircraft at one of the FAA's six national UAS test sites, Aurora says.
- Air Force Picks Anduril And General Atomics To Build And Test Collaborative Combat Aircrafton April 25, 2024 at 3:53 am
The U.S. Air Force has awarded the two companies the funding for detailed designs, manufacture, and testing of production representative test articles ...
- Ground Drones: The Next Frontier Of Unmanned Combat In Ukraineon April 18, 2024 at 8:28 am
Recent footage from Ukraine shows both Russia and Kyiv are using unmanned ground vehicles in combat. Here is why wheeled drones have proved the most difficult remote-controlled systems to develop.
- Why The U.S. Navy Stopped Using The X-47B Stealth Droneon April 14, 2024 at 10:29 pm
A year later, the Unmanned Combat Air System demonstration project ended. The X-47B was just a demonstration, a proof of concept. However, the project led to the Carrier-Based Aerial Refueling ...
- Unmanned Aerial Vehicleson October 29, 2023 at 11:28 pm
General Atomics' MQ-9B drones will help the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command develop a beyond-the-horizon power projection capability.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Unmanned Combat Air System
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Unmanned Combat Air System” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
UAV
- Congressman Wittman, House Committee on Armed Services, Tours U.S.-based UAV Disruptor RapidFlighton May 9, 2024 at 5:59 am
The company’s approach, called AgileAviation, includes more than 20 customizable UAV designs to date and a proprietary software-hardware stack that takes aim at ensuring that the U.S. will compete with overseas production in countries such as China.
- Explosions rock Kharkiv, fires break out due to Russian Shahed UAV attack overnight – photoon May 4, 2024 at 2:34 pm
Explosions were heard in the city of Kharkiv during a Russian attack on the night of 4-5 May. Source: Suspilne Kharkiv, a Kharkiv-related branch of Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne; Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov Quote from Suspilne: "Explosions in Kharkiv".
The Latest Google Headlines on:
UAV
[google_news title=”” keyword=”UAV ” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]