These robots grow up so fast. It was just two years ago that personnel at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. escorted PopMech through the lab, describing how they were making the X-47B jet fighter-sized drone ready to take off and land from a carrier. Today, the unmanned naval demonstration aircraft launched from the deck of George H.W. Bush, zipped around the carrier a few times, and flew itself back to Pax River.
Vice Adm. David Buss, commander of Naval Air Forces called the launch a "watershed event" in naval aviation. "Today we saw a small but significant pixel in the future picture of our Navy as we begin integration of unmanned systems into arguably the most complex warfighting environment that exists today: the flight deck of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier," he said.
Taking off from the carrier is a milestone, but it requires only that the X-47B can handle the steam catapult launch, the same gear used by conventional Navy warplanes. Navy researchers were more interested to see how the unmanned aircraft behaved near the carrier, a complicated place for air traffic control that's full of different radio frequency emissions. The Navy says the testers "demonstrated the ability to precisely navigate the X-47B within the controlled airspace around an aircraft carrier at sea and seamlessly pass control of the air vehicle from a 'mission operator' aboard the carrier" to one located in at NAS Patuxent River.
Over the next few weeks, the X-47B aircraft will fly several approaches to the ship. This will lead up to the big show—landing this thing a pitching flight deck. (The X-47B set down on land following this test.)
Landing on an aircraft carrier is one of the most difficult feats of aviation, requiring a clever mesh of man and machine. The Navy is building the X-47B's landing capability on technology pilots use today, the Precision Approach Landing System (PALS), but going beyond what it uses to help human aviators land on the deck. PALS uses SPN-46 radar to locate an aircraft in relation to a carrier. However the PALS radar covers only the rear of the carrier and is limited by the number of aircraft it can track simultaneously. These deficiencies make it unsuitable for controlling UAVs that are approaching to land.
Instead, the Navy's robotic landing system relies on precise GPS coordinates to obtain 360-degree coverage and automate navigation. The airplane calculates the appropriate flight paths around the ship as the carrier supplies the vessel's speed, the sea state, and other data.
If the X-47B succeeds, it will not exactly open up a new chapter in naval aviation history—this is just a demonstration airplane—but it will blaze a trail for follow-up programs. Military strategists are keen on use of UAVs from carriers because these aircraft can stay overhead longer and launch from farther away. Those are good traits to have in an age of anti-ship missiles and other "access denial" strategies aimed at U.S. carrier groups. The ability to loiter in the air for long periods of time will also provide recon and intelligence-gathering possibilities that are vital for carrier operations, and give carrier-based planes the ability to support friendly forces fighting on land.