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Navy Carries Out First Catapult Launch Of Unmanned X-47B

Monday, December 3rd, 2012

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The Navy carried out the first launch of the demonstrator X-47B on a stream driven catapult recently, achieving a major step toward flying unmanned aerial vehicles off aircraft carriers and marking what the service called the “start of a new era for naval aviation.” The shore-based test of the Northrop Grumman [NOC]-built X-47B took place at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., one day after plans were scrubbed due to weather concerns. "The X-47B shore-based catapult launch we witnessed here…

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