USS GEORGE H. W. BUSH, At Sea -- The U.S. Navy made history yet again Wednesday when the X-47B drone successfully landed aboard the George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier off the coast of Virginia Beach, Va.
The batwinged-shaped jet built by Northrop Grumman Corp. made a smooth approach, touched down on the flight deck and came to a sudden halt after catching an arresting cable aboard the aircraft carrier at about 1:40 p.m.
Military.com reporter Brendan McGarry was aboard the carrier to witness the historic landing first hand. His full account is linked here. Video is attached below.
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Navy Secretary Ray Mabus drew comparisons of the event to pilot Eugene Ely's first-ever landing of a biplane on a ship in 1911. "It is not often that you get a chance to see the future, but that's what we got to do today," he said during a news conference with reporters afterward. "This is an amazing day for aviation in general and for naval aviation in particular."
The service's top officer, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert, called it a "miraculous technological feat."
