The U.S. Navy launched its first unmanned drone off the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush Tuesday, reports the Associated Press:
[The Navy X-47B drone] isn't intended for operational use, but it will be used to help develop other unmanned, carrier-based aircraft.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the X-47B prototype program costs $1.4 billion and "will lead to a full Navy drone program designed to begin fielding drones on all Navy carriers between 2017 and 2020."
Tuesday’s flight was a major milestone, which Navy officers say one day could be looked back on as an important turning point in the history of Naval aviation.
The Navy drone is more autonomous than the current generation of Air Force drones. While Air Force pilots remotely fly MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Reapers, the X-47B handles the complicated maneuvers required for taking off and landing on a carrier autonomously.
