The Navy successfully tested autonomous aerial refueling for the first time with its Northrop Grumman X-47B test unmanned aerial vehicle on Wednesday, marking the end of the Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Air Vehicle demonstrator (UCAS-D) program, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) told USNI News shortly after the aircraft landed at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
Cruising over the Chesapeake Bay, the X-47B — call sign Salty Dog 502 — successfully maneuvered behind an contracted Omega Aerial Refueling Services Boeing 707 tanker and took on more than 4,000 pounds of fuel before heading back to Pax River at about 1:15 P.M. EST, NAVAIR spokesperson Jamie Cosgrove told USNI News.
The probe-and-drogue refueling test was successfully completed during the first of two test windows NAVAIR had on Wednesday and days before the availability of the Omega tanker was to expire, USNI News understands.
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