page_title: Northrop Grumman X-47B
section_title: Flight testing
hierarchical_section_title: Northrop Grumman X-47B / Design and development / Flight testing
caption_attribution_description: English: A U.S. Navy X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System makes an arrested landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) as the ship conducts flight operations in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Virginia on July 10, 2013. The successful landing marks the first time a tail-less, unmanned autonomous aircraft landed on a modern aircraft carrier.
context_page_description: The Northrop Grumman X-47B is a demonstration unmanned combat aerial vehicle designed for aircraft carrier-based operations. Developed by the American defense technology company Northrop Grumman, the X-47 project began as part of DARPA's J-UCAS program, and subsequently became part of the United States Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration program. The X-47B is a tailless jet-powered blended-wing-body aircraft capable of semi-autonomous operation and aerial refueling.
  The X-47B first flew in 2011, and as of 2015, its two active demonstrators have undergone extensive flight and operational integration testing, having successfully performed a series of land- and carrier-based demonstrations. In August 2014, the US Navy announced that it had integrated the X-47B into carrier operations alongside manned aircraft, and by May 2015 the aircraft's primary test program was declared complete. The X-47B demonstrators themselves were intended to become museum exhibits after the completion of their flight testing, but the Navy later decided to maintain them in flying condition pending further development.
context_section_description: The first flight of the X-47B demonstrator, designated Air Vehicle 1 (AV-1), took place at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on 4 February 2011.
  The aircraft first flew in cruise configuration with its landing gear retracted on 30 September 2011. A second X-47B demonstrator, designated AV-2, conducted its maiden flight at Edwards Air Force Base on 22 November 2011.
  The two X-47B demonstrators were initially planned to have a three-year test program with 50 tests at Edwards AFB and NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, culminating in sea trials in 2013. However, the aircraft performed so consistently that the preliminary tests stopped after 16 flights. Thereafter, the Navy decided to use the aircraft to demonstrate carrier launches and recoveries, as well as autonomous inflight refueling with a probe and drogue. In November 2011, the Navy announced that aerial refuelling equipment and software would be added to one of the prototype aircraft in 2014 for testing. The Navy also affirmed that the demonstrator aircraft would never be armed. In 2012, Northrop Grumman tested a wearable remote control system, designed to allow ground crews to steer the X-47B while on the carrier deck.
  In May 2012, AV-1 began high-intensity electromagnetic interference testing at Patuxent River, to test its compatibility with planned electronic warfare systems. In June 2012, AV-2 arrived at Patuxent River to begin a series of tests, including arrested landings and catapult launches, to validate the ability of the aircraft to conduct precision approaches to an aircraft carrier. The drone's first land-based catapult launch was conducted successfully on 29 November 2012.
  On 26 November 2012, the X-47B began its carrier-based evaluation aboard the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. On 18 December 2012, the X-47B completed its first at-sea test phase. The system was remarked to have performed "outstandingly", having proved that it was compatible with the flight deck, hangar bays, and communication systems of an aircraft carrier. With deck testing completed, the X-47B demonstrator returned to NAS Patuxent River for further tests. On 4 May 2013, the demonstrator successfully performed an arrested landing on a simulated carrier deck at Patuxent River. The Navy launched the X-47B from the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) on the morning of 14 May 2013 in the Atlantic Ocean, marking the first time that an unmanned drone was catapulted off an aircraft carrier.  On 17 May 2013, another first was achieved when the X-47B performed touch-and-go landings and take-offs on the flight deck of the USS George H.W. Bush while underway in the Atlantic Ocean.
  On 10 July 2013, the X-47B launched from Patuxent River and landed on the deck of George H.W. Bush, conducting the first ever arrested landing of a UAV on an aircraft carrier at sea. The drone subsequently completed a second successful arrested landing on George H.W. Bush, but a third attempt was diverted to the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia after a technical problem was detected, aborting the planned carrier landing. One of the drone's three navigational sub-systems failed, which was identified by the other two sub-systems. The anomaly was indicated to the mission operator, who followed test plan procedures to abort the landing.  The Navy stated that the aircraft's detection of a problem demonstrated its reliability and ability to operate autonomously.
  On 15 July 2013, the second X-47B demonstrator, designated 501, was forced to abort another planned landing on George H.W. Bush due to technical issues. Officials asserted that only one successful at-sea landing was required for the program, though testers were aiming for three, and only two out of four were achieved. The Navy continued flying the two X-47B demonstrators through 2014, after the service was criticised for prematurely retiring the testbeds. The Navy subsequently deployed the aircraft to carriers for three further test phases between 2013 and 2015, with the intent of demonstrating that unmanned aircraft could seamlessly work wi
caption: An X-47B makes a successful arrested landing on George H.W. Bush on 10 July 2013
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