[A.A. Cunningham]

130517-N-FU443-090 ATLANTIC OCEAN (May 17, 2013) An X-47B unmanned combat air system (UCAS) demonstrator prepares to execute a touch and go landing on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). This is the first time any unmanned aircraft has completed a touch and go landing at sea. George H.W. Bush is conducting training operations in the Atlantic Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Timothy Walter/Released)

130517-N-MW819-046 ATLANTIC OCEAN (May 17, 2013) An X-47B unmanned combat air system (UCAS) demonstrator prepares to execute a touch and go landing on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). This is the first time any unmanned aircraft has completed a touch and go landing at sea. George H.W. Bush is conducting training operations in the Atlantic Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Brian Stephens/Released)

130517-N-FU443-065 ATLANTIC OCEAN (May 17, 2013) An X-47B unmanned combat air system (UCAS) demonstrator conducts a touch and go landing on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). This is the first time any unmanned aircraft has completed a touch and go landing at sea. George H.W. Bush is conducting training operations in the Atlantic Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Timothy Walter/Released)

130517-N-YZ751-017 ATLANTIC OCEAN (May 17, 2013) An X-47B unmanned combat air system (UCAS) demonstrator conducts a touch and go landing on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). This is the first time any unmanned aircraft has completed a touch and go landing at sea. George H.W. Bush is conducting training operations in the Atlantic Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tony D. Curtis/Released)

130517-O-ZZ999-001 ATLANTIC OCEAN (May 17, 2013) An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator conducts a touch and go landing on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), marking the first time any unmanned aircraft has completed a touch and go landing at sea. George H.W. Bush is conducting training operations in the Atlantic Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Alan Radecki courtesy Northrop Grumman/Released)

130517-N-TB177-187 ATLANTIC OCEAN (May 17, 2013) An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator conducts a touch and go landing on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), marking the first time any unmanned aircraft has completed a touch and go landing at sea. George H.W. Bush is conducting training operations in the Atlantic Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kevin J. Steinberg/Released)

[Conspiracy Guy]

cool pictures

[Tainan]

This is what computers are meant for.

[tje]

Looks wicked.. and, I believe, a game changer.

[EternalVigilance]

Bump.

[DakotaGator]

Awesome technology!

And I believe in-flight refueling has already been demonstrated…but maybe with a different platform. VSTOL cannot be far behind.

Plus, there’s been tremendous progress with unmanned naval helicopters with prototype successful drug interdiction demonstrated in the Caribbean. Half a century later, DASH is very close to finally being viable. Naval Aviation is one the edge of a quantum leap in effectiveness across the Fleet!

Add to this the imminent fielding of shipboard rail-guns and beam weapons while shifting to all electric operations on stealthy, evolved hull design, rapidly reconfigurable, high-speed warships and the US Navy will be beyond anyone’s capability to match for at least a generation. Huge changes in crewing and training are in development to support this. Joint operations and logistics is now damn near seamless with Combined operations integration not far behind.

Our remaining biggest problem is shifting the Fleet over to these new capabilities while retaining numbers. Politicians will always try to whittle us down to a fleet which cannot afford to take losses. With huge construction and training lead-times required for this type of Navy, we will have to fight the coming war with what we have. And the first battle is with politicians who are spendthrift with everything except defense.

Finally, we must guard against this being just another R&D effort for the Democrats to give to the Chinese.

[Flick Lives]

With an unmanned aircraft who / what is “calling the ball”?

[moovova]

“Maverick” ain’t gonna like this.

(Go Navy!)

[Squantos]

BTTT !

[SampleMan]

They had better make for sure that Iran can’t control them.

[Zhang Fei]

This subsonic aircraft is a fighter the way the F-117 was a fighter, which is to say it’s a bomb truck.

[bunkerhill7]

That`s a byte of a rattlesnake.

[Squantos]

Just a question.... What and or who is the handler signaling in that last picture ?

[baddog 219]

The IRS just ordered 20 of them....

[Terry L Smith]

I saw the YT videos earlier in the week. This is one impressive aircraft! Only when it was poised for ‘cat launch’, did I see an F-18 nearby, and got the size of this thing! It is NOT small.

I believe that this might be a new generation of, at least, three squadrons, when they are through! I hope to be of life and mind enough, to see that reality.

[Oztrich Boy]

You can’t send a kid up in a crate like that!

[taildragger]

Notice how rapidly this flight test program is advancing. It was just days ago it made a carrier take-off, now a touch and go. Landing is next is my guess, then the ones @ night with a pitching deck etc. That would tell me this is well engineered and project management wise, they have it wired as well.

The engine is an older type Pratt F-100 series, low cost it works etc, to reduce program risk. I'd love to see one of their small commerical cores and a gearbox for a mini-geared-turbofan like the ones they are working on for the commerical side, but that is money and risk. The range gained from that might be an eye opener, if you look @ the numbers they are getting for the big commerical geared turbofans.

[Romulus]

Freepers cheering another advance in surveillance technology. Bunch of dolts.

[Yollopoliuhqui]

Now if we could apply technology to the ACTUAL 21st century battle front, the propaganda war, we might stand a chance of lasting another generation.

[diogenes ghost]

The X-47B is a technology demonstrator (hence the -D designator) for the upcoming UCLASS project - Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike system.

Kinda like a concept car.

[Jet Jaguar]

Cool.