X-47B UCAS Flies With F/A-18E
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In a historic first, an unmanned X-47B UCAS took off and landed alongside a manned aircraft, an F/A-18E Super Hornet, reports Breaking Defense. The flight test was conducted aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt with a goal for the two aircraft to take off within 90 seconds of one another and then land within a minute and a half. The overall mission is to integrate unmanned aircraft seamlessly into the regular rhythm of an existing air wing. The manned F-18 used for the test had “no special equipment, no upgrades,” said Captain Beau Duarte, NAVAIR program manager for unmanned carrier aviation. It did have a professional test pilot at the controls instead of a regular Navy flier for safety reasons.
Navy jets are again striking targets inside Iraq, but they had to break off air support operations over Afghanistan to do it, according to Navy Times. Although President Obama has indicated that the mission over Iraq would be a “long-term project” fleet leaders say the impact of this new mission on sailors should be limited for now.
Almost 8,000 Navy chiefs must go before a continuation board later this year to determine whether they can continue to serve or must retire, reports azcentral. The board, the first since early 2013, will convene October 27. At risk are between 7,500 and 8,000 retirement-eligible active and reserve E-7s, E-8s and E-9s with at least three years’ time in rate.
Stars & Stripes takes a look at the “loud, dangerous and careful work for yellow shirts” conducting flight operations aboard the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier. The F/A-18Es launched from the flattop are conducting airstrikes in Iraq.
The DoD’s move to software defined networks will bring with it a set of code-writing guidelines for contractors, according to C4ISR & Networks. Acting chief information officer Terry Halvorsen said that the department was working on standards that includes an emphasis on keeping bandwidth requirements low, especially for operating in environments where it might be scarce.
US attorneys have intervened in a whistleblower suit against Sikorsky Aircraft that alleges one of its subsidiaries used a sister company to illegally mark up replacement parts provided through a defense contract to the Navy, reports The Courant.
Navy women were polled about their uniforms, and their answers are resulting in a number of key changes, according to Navy Times. Respondents to the 2013 Women’s Uniform Survey say they aren’t looking for a sweeping overhaul of their uniforms, they just want them to fit better.
