Politics & Government
Another Drone Milestone – One Lands on Navy Aircraft Carrier
The milestone took place off the coast of Virginia; an admiral called the development one for the "history books."
Drones fascinate – and in some cases disturb – military observers, but there's no question they are a potent tool.
The Navy marked a milestone Wednesday, according to the Associated Press via the Huffington Post, when a X-47B unmanned aircraft landed aboard the USS George H.W. Bush in Virginia.
It left Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. One of the more notable developments, the report said, was the ability to stop the drone in the same manner most high-powered military jets stop on an aircraft carrier – via tailhook.
The Navy had only tried such a drone landing on land before, not on a ship. Officials were thrilled.
"Your grandchildren and great grandchildren and mine will be reading about this historic event in their history books," said Rear Adm. Mat Winter, the who oversees the Navy's work on drones and strike weapons.
North Island Naval Air Station has a unit, Helicopter Maritime Squadron 35, that includes unmanned helicopters developed by Northrop Grumman in Rancho Bernardo.
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