From Naval Air Systems Command Public Affairs
ATLANTIC OCEAN (NNS) -- The Navy's X-47B completed its final
test aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Aug. 24 and returned to its home
base at Naval Air Station Patuxent River after eight days at sea.
While underway, the X-47B flew in the carrier pattern with
manned aircraft for the first time and conducted a total of five catapult
launches, four arrestments and nine touch-and-go landings, including a night
time shipboard flight deck handling evaluation.
"This is another detachment for the record books; all
tests were safely and effectively executed," said Capt. Beau Duarte,
Navy's Unmanned Carrier Aviation program manager. "We have set the bar for
the future of unmanned carrier aviation."
Testing began Aug. 17 when the X-47B performed its initial
cooperative launch and recovery cycle with an F/A-18. With its automatic
wing-fold capability and new tailhook retract system, the X-47B met the
program's objective to demonstrate that carrier-based manned and unmanned
aircraft could maintain a 90 second aircraft launch and recovery interval.
Throughout the week, the Navy/Northrop Grumman test team
captured X-47B flying quality and recovery wind condition data to evaluate how
the aircraft responds to wake turbulence during approach and landing. This data
will be used to improve a simulation model for use with carrier-based aircraft.
The team also evaluated how the unmanned aircraft performed
during the first night time taxi and deck handling operations aboard a carrier.
Since the shipboard environment presents different challenges at night, this
test was an incremental step in developing the operational concept for more
routine unmanned air system flight activity.
"We conducted X-47B night flight deck operations to
understand the human interface and suitability of the unmanned air vehicle and
deck operator's hand-held control unit in the night environment," said
Barbara Weathers, X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System lead. "These lessons
learned will help with the development of future unmanned platforms."
The Navy will continue to execute shore-based testing at
Patuxent River to further the goal of seamless integration with manned aircraft
and to refine best practices for the evaluation of future unmanned air systems.
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