Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton HALE UAS completes first flight

Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft is one step closer to serving the Navy in maritime reconnaissance and surveillance missions, having just completed its first flight at Palmdale, California. The drone spent 80 minutes in the air, reaching an altitude of 20,000 feet. 

The MQ-4C Triton, the airborne element of the U.S. Navy's Broad Area Maritime 

Surveillance (BAMS) system which also include the Boeing P-8A Poseidon MMA aircraft .

The aircraft can soar at up to 60,000 feet and stay airborne for as long as 30 hours. By 2015, the Triton will undergo operational testing and evaluation, and the Navy hopes to add additional aircraft to its existing fleet (currently just two strong). 

X-47B Catapult launched From Aircraft Carrier-Creates History

The U.S. Navy launched an unmanned, autonomous aircraft the size of a fighter jet from a warship for the first time today, a development that could herald the end of Top Gun-style piloted air combat missions.

The X-47B drone is the first designed to operate an aircraft carrier, which allows it to be used around the world without needing permission to take off from airfields in other countries.

But there are concerns about the legality of what has been dubbed America's 'covert drone war'. Strikes cause widespread civilian deaths and operate with only limited oversight, critics say.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2324571/U-S-Navys-X-47B-stealth-drone-launches-aircraft-carrier-time--critics-warn-heralds-rise-killer-robots.html

Northrop Grumman X-47B makes first arrested landing

The Northrop Grumman X-47B test bed has completed its first landing using an arrestor cable on 4 May, the same method used to land on an aircraft carrier, bringing the aircraft one step closer to an actual carrier landing.

The landing, conducted at the US Navy's flight test airfield at Patuxent River, Maryland, was successful. Called a 'trap' in Navy parlance, the manoeuvre is one of the most challenging tasks Navy pilots regularly conduct. In contrast, the X-47Bs' trap was conducted completely by computer guidance, with human oversight from a landing officer beside the runway.

"It moves us a critical step closer to proving that unmanned systems can be integrated seamlessly into Navy carrier operations," says Capt Jaime Engdahl, the Navy's programme manager. "The entire system has performed very well across a large set of shore-based testing events including aircraft performance, flying qualities, navigation performance, catapult launches, and precision landings designed to stress system operation."

Source: Flightglobal