This morning, the X-47B became the first unmanned aircraft to ever complete a catapult launch from a carrier deck, an achievement just as momentous as the first launch of an aircraft from a naval vessel more than a century ago. And that’s simply where the list of the X-47B’s firsts begins.
The X-47B is also the first tail-less aircraft to operate from a carrier deck, which also makes it the first jet, manned or unmanned, with a low observable “stealth” profile to operate from a carrier. It’s the first self-piloting, autonomous unmanned jet to fly in any branch of the military. In this writer’s experience, it’s the first unmanned aircraft that’s this ridiculously cool.
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