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Navy catapults unmanned X-47B aircraft for first time
Published October 22, 2015
Nov. 29, 2012: In preparation for the first catapult launch of the U.S. Navy's X-47B unmanned aircraft, a flight deck director - aka "yellow shirt" - and a deck operator using Northrop Grumman's wireless, handheld Control Display Unit guide the aircraft into position on a shore-based catapult at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. (Northrop Grumman Corp)
The U.S. Navy and Northrop Grumman slingshot an unmanned aircraft into the skies Thursday at a facility in Patuxent River, Md., the first of a series of shore-based catapult-to-flight tests over the next few weeks.
Using the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator, the Navy's UCAS Carrier Demonstration program plans to catapult the aircraft from a ship base, making history, next year.
Mike Mackey, UCAS-D program director for Northrop Grumman, said, "Today's successful launch is another critical milestone in the carrier-stability testing phase of the UCAS-D program."
The test was conducted at a shore-based catapult facility at Naval Air Station in Patuxent River, Md. Northrop Grumman said in a statement following the launch that the X-47B did a test flight over the Chesapeake Bay to simulate what the aircraft will have to do when it lands on a ship.
The test flight also allowed the team to collect navigation data about each of the maneuvers performed. Mackey said, "It also provides another confidence-building step toward our rendezvous with history next year."
A program goal for 2013 is to demonstrate the launch, recovery and air traffic control operations abilities of an X-47B to operate from a Navy aircraft carrier.
The Northrop Grumman Corporation, a leading global security company, is the Navy's main contractor for the UCAS-D program.
https://www.foxnews.com/tech/navy-catapults-unmanned-x-47b-aircraft-for-first-time