X-47B UCAS-D makes first arrested landing
Northrop Grumman has announced that the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator under development with the US Navy has conducted its first fly-in arrested landing on 4 May. The landing was conducted at the navy’s shore-based catapult and arresting gear complex at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River.
An arrested landing uses a heavy cable extended across the landing area that is caught by the incoming aircraft’s landing hook. The tension in the wire brings the aircraft to a rapid and controlled stop.
During the test the X-47B used a navigation approach that closely mimics the technique it will use to land on an aircraft carrier underway at sea.
Capt. Jaime Engdahl, the navy's UCAS program manager, said: ‘This precision, shore-based trap by the X-47B puts the UCAS Carrier Demonstration [UCAS-D] programme on final approach for a rendezvous with naval aviation history. It moves us a critical step closer to proving that unmanned systems can be integrated seamlessly into navy carrier operations.’
Carl Johnson, vice president and Navy UCAS program manager for Northrop Grumman, added: ‘The X-47B air vehicle performs exactly as predicted by the modelling, simulation and surrogate testing we did early in the UCAS-D programme. It takes off, flies and lands within a few feet of its predicted path.’
So far the aircraft’s shore-based carrier suitability testing has included precision approaches, touch-and-go landings, and precision landings. This landing – the first arrested landing by a navy unmanned aircraft - marks the beginning of the final phase of testing prior to carrier-based trials planned for later this month.
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
![Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)]()
Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)
Cummings Aerospace presented its turbojet-powered Hellhound loitering munition at SOF Week 2025, offering a man-portable solution aligned with the US Army’s LASSO requirements.
-
![SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale]()
SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale
PDW has revealed its Attritable Multirotor First Person View drone at SOF Week 2025, offering special operations forces a low-cost, rapidly deployable platform for strike and ISR missions, inspired by battlefield lessons from Ukraine.
-
![SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions]()
SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions
Teledyne FLIR is highlighting the emerging requirements for 'recoverable and re-usable' loitering munitions across the contemporary operating environment during this week’s SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida.
-
![SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America]()
SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America
High-performance maritime industry player Kraken Technology Group, based in the UK, has used the SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida this week to debut its K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to the North American market.
-
![Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military]()
Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military
Red Cat and Palladyne AI recently conducted a cross-platform collaborative flight involving three diverse heterogeneous drones.
-
![Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures]()
Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven another stage of evolution for drones and the counter measures to defend against them.
