The Navy for the first time on Sunday operated both manned and unmanned aircraft aboard a carrier in what commanders called a historic day.
Both an F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet and an X-47B drone were launched from the deck of the Norfolk, Va.-based USS Theodore Roosevelt. The X-47B landed first with the assistance of new deck controls, allowing the F/A-18 to touch down closely behind it.
The tests marked a new milestone in the Navy’s efforts to develop carrier-launched surveillance and strike drones.
"What you saw today was history," said Rear Adm. Mat Winter, who oversees the Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons.