The Navy over the weekend performed a series of flight tests with the unmanned X-47B that the service said showed unmanned aircraft are compatible with manned carrier aviation without significant impact to normal flight operations.

The first series of manned-unmanned operations began Sunday when the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) launched an F/A-18 and an X-47B. After an eight-minute flight, the X-47B executed an arrested landing, folded its wings and taxied out of the landing area. The deck-based operator used newly-developed deck handling control to manually move the aircraft out of the way of other aircraft, allowing the F/A-18 to touch down close behind the X-47B’s recovery.

The Navy's unmanned X-47B conducts flight operations Aug. 17 aboard the aircratft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Photo: Northrop Grumman.
The Navy’s unmanned X-47B conducts flight operations Aug. 17 aboard the aircratft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Photo: Northrop Grumman.

X-47B Program Manager Navy Capt. Beau Duarte told Defense Daily in an email Monday it is important that the F/A-18 landed close behind the X-47B because during normal operations, the CVN recovers aircraft at fixed intervals. Duarte said the intent during these tests was to demonstrate a fleet representative recovery interval using cooperative manned and unmanned operations. The F/A-18 landing behind the X-47B, Duarte said, provided a relevant carrier environment to evaluate the ability of the X-47B to recover and taxi clear of the landing area quickly enough to integrate with normal fleet procedures.

Duarte also said in a Navy statement that these tests showed the X-47B could take off, land and fly in the carrier pattern with manned aircraft while maintaining normal flight deck operations. Duarte said the carrier controlled approach pattern is a standard course of flight that all manned aircraft following the carrier airspace. It includes takeoff and landing standard flight patterns, Duarte said, as well as approach, holding and departures.

X-47B prime contractor Northrop Grumman [NOC] called the test flights the first time manned and unmanned carrier aircraft have operated together in the same carrier controlled landing pattern at the same time. Cooperative flight test operations continued Monday, Duarte said, and the X-47B will remain on CVN-71 for the rest of this underway period.

X-47B is the demonstrator program for the Navy’s Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program.