Video: No Pilot, No Problem: X-47B Makes First Unmanned Carrier Launch!

 Today is a big day for unmanned aircraft as Northrop Grumman's X-47B made the first ever carrier launch without an onboard pilot at 11:18 am EDT off the coast of Virginia from the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush. The catapult launch appears to have been a tremendous success! And while the X-47B can be operated autonomously (with no active human input) this launch was done with humans controlling the aircraft's actions.

 The launch is a follow up to the arrested landing test done back on May 4, 2013 on a shore-based runway (video below) where the aircraft showed no trouble catching the wire. The biggest test of all will come in the next few weeks or months as the X-47B will eventually attempt to land on the carrier deck at sea. It would seem that this will be a significant challenge compared to the tests completed thus far, but it would also appear that the aircraft is up to the task as it has looked rock solid at every turn since its first flight in February 2011.

 This aircraft certainly moves the military much closer to combat aircraft capable of operating in the tight and tense carrier environment, tho it's important to not that the X-47B is not itself intended for combat operations. It's also moving the military closer to the day when we will have aircraft of every capability being unmanned... and while many pilots see this as a huge negative, it does make sense to use the technology to protect human lives if it is able to function at a high level of safety.

 Maybe the brave new world will have a lot fewer jet jockeys but more hardcore aerobatic competition and airshow pilots! (these guys gotta get their vitamin G somewhere : )

(click pic to enlarge) Cropped screenshot of the first ever unmanned carrier launch: X-47B