Saturday, May 18, 2013

Crew members watch as the X-47B UCAV soars over the flight deck of the USS George H.W. Bush, on May 14, 2013.
U.S. Navy

The U.S. Navy Does It Again... A few weeks after it was publicized that the U.S. Navy successfully shot down an unmanned drone using a ship-mounted laser weapon, the military branch revealed that it flawlessly launched an unmanned drone, Northrop Grumman's X-47B UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle), via catapult from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush. As recently as yesterday, the UCAV achieved additional milestones when it conducted touch-and-go landings and take-offs from the George H.W. Bush as she was deployed in the Atlantic Ocean. This historic feat comes almost 100 years since the Navy catapulted the first manned aircraft from a seagoing vessel...which took place in November of 1915 from the armored warship USS North Carolina. Awesome.

The Sun is about to rise as crew members prepare the X-47B UCAV for its first catapult launch from the flight deck of the USS George H.W. Bush, on May 14, 2013.

An elevator is about to take the X-47B UCAV up to the flight deck of the USS George H.W. Bush for its first catapult launch, on May 14, 2013.
Timothy Walter / AP

An elevator is about to take the X-47B UCAV up to the flight deck of the USS George H.W. Bush for its first catapult launch, on May 14, 2013.
Northrop Grumman / U.S. Navy

An older photo of the X-47B UCAV on the flight deck of the USS Harry S. Truman, on December 9, 2012.
U.S. Navy / MC3 Kristina Young

The X-47B UCAV takes off from the flight deck of the USS George H.W. Bush for the first time, on May 14, 2013.
Northrop Grumman / Alan Radecki
Posted by Richard Par at 10:43 AM
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